©X«D TIMSI 



OLD MONMOUTH. 



HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES OF 



OLD MOETMOUTH COUNTY NEW JERSEY. 



Being a series of Historical Sketches relating to Old Monmouth County, 

Now Monmouth and Ocean Counties, originally published in 

the Monmouth Democrat, Freehold, N. J. 



EDWIN SALTER. 



Printed at the office of the Monmouth Democrat, 

Freehold, N. J. 

1874. 



.*'♦. 

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oilmTD a?xiv££3]s; 



IN 



VI 





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THE MONMOUTH PATENT. 



As tills noted instrument, though famil- 
iar to those who have made the early his- 
tory of our State a special study, is not 
readily accessible to some of our readers, 
we copy it lu-re for convenient re'"eren('d 
to all interested in the history of Old Mon- 
mouth : 

"To all whom these jiresents shall ceme: 
T Richard Nicolis Esq, Oovernor under his 
Royal Highness the Duke of York of all 
his Territories in America, send greeting. 

•' Whereas there i« a certain tract or par- 
cel of land within this government, lying 
and being near Sandy Point, upon the 
Main ; which said parcel of land hath 
been with my consent and approbation 
bought by some of the inhabitants of 
Giaves«nd upon Long Island of the 
Sachems (chief proprietors thereof) who 
before me liav«» acknowledged to have re 
ceived satisfaction tor the same, to the 
end that the said land may be planted, 
mauuie'l and inhabited, and for divers 
other good causes and consideia lions. 1 
have tluHightfit to giv« confirm and grant 
and by the>.e pr«sents do give confirm and 
grant unto William Glrlding, Samiei, 

SiMCER, RiCIIARU GrlHBONS,/ RiCHARD SxOfT, 
.1 AMES GrOVER, JOIIV BowX, .loUN TlLTON, 
NaTHAMEI. SVl.VESTER, Wl!,I,IA.\I ReaI'E, 



Walter Clarke, Nicholas Davis, Obadiah 
Holmes, patentees, and their associates, 
thpir heirs, successors and assigns, all that 
tract and part of the main land, beginning 
at a certain place commonly called or 
known by the name of Sandy Point and so 
running along the bay West North West, till 
it comes to the mouth of the Raritan 
River, from thence going alon^ the said 
river to th# wt-stermostpart of the certain 
marsh land, which divides the river into 
two parts, and from that part to run 
in a direct Southwest line into the woods 
twelve miles, and thence to turn away 
south east and by south, until it falls into 
the main ocean; together with all lands, 
soils, rivers, creeks, harbors, mines, min- 
erals (Rejal mines e:xcepted) quarries, 
woods, meadows, pastures marshes, wat- 
ers, lakes, fishings, hawkings, huntings 
and fowling, and all other profits, commo- 
dities and hereditaments to the said lands 
and premises belonging and appertaining, 
with their and every of their appurtenances 
and ofevery part and parcel thereof, to have 
axd to hold all and singular the said lands, 
hereditaments and premises with their 
and every of their appurtenances herebv 
given and granted, or herein before men- 
tioned to be given and granted to the only 
proper use and behoof of the said paten- 
tees and their associates, their heirs 
successors and assigns forever, upon 
such ternts and conditions as here- 
after are expressed, that is to say, 



OLD TfMKS TX OLD MONMorTif. 



that the said patentees and their as- 
sociates, their heirs or assigns slmll within 
the space of three years, beginning from 
the day of tlie date hereof, manure and 
plant the aforesaid land and premises and 
settle there one. hundred families at the 
least; in consideration whereof I do 
promise and grant that the said patentees 
and their associates, their heirs, succt-ssors 
and assigns, shall enjoy the said land and 
premises, with their a[)i)urtenanees, for the 
term of seven years next to come .iftor the 
date of these presents, free from payment 
of any rents, customs, excise, tax or lery 
' whatsoever. But after the expiration of tlie 
said term of seven years, the persons wlio 
shall be in possession thereof, shall pay 
after, the same rate which others witliin 
this his Royal Highness' territories shall be 
obliged unto. And the said patentees and 
their associates, their heiis successors and 
assigns sliall have free leave and liberty to 
erect and budd tlieir towns and villages in 
such places, as they in their discretionsshall 
think most convenient, provided that they 
associate themselves, and that the hjuses 
of their towns and villages be not too far 
distant and scattering one from another; 
and also that they make such fortifica- 
tions for their defence against an enemy 
as may be needful. 

'' And I do likewise grant unto the said 
patentees and their associates, their heirs 
successors and assigns, and unto any and 
all other persons, who shall plant and in- 
habit in any of the land aforesaid that 
they shall have free liberty of conscience, 
without any molestation or disturbance 
whatsoever in their way of worship. 

"And I do further grant unto tlie afore- 
said patentees, their heirs, successors and 
assigns, that they shall iiav3 liberty to 
elect l)y the vote of the major part ol' the 
inhabitants, five or seven other persons of 
the ablest and discreetest of the said in- 
habitants, or a greater number of them ( if 
the patentees, their heirs, successors or as- 
signs shall s«e cause ) to join with them, 
and they together, oi- the major part of 
them, shall have full power and authority, 
to makesuch peculiar and ))rudentiul laws 
and constitutions amongst tlie inhabitants 
for the belter and more orderly governing 
of them, as to them shall seem meet ; pro- 
vi(h^d they be not rej)ugnant to the public 
•aws of tlie government; and they shall 
also have liberty to try all causes and ac 
tions of debts and trespasses arising 
amongst themselves to the valu« of /.en 
pnuyirf.'i. without apnea], but tlipy mny I'c- 



rait the hearing of all criminal matters to 
the assizes of New York. 

'•And furthermore 1 do pi'oinise and 
grant unto the said patentees and, their 
associates aforementioned their hfirs, suc- 
cessors and assigns that tliey shall in all 
things have equal privileges, freedom and 
immunitit^s with any of his majesty's sub- 
jects within this government, these paten 
tees and tlu-ir associates, tlieir heirs, suc- 
cessors and assigns rendering and paying 
such dutii's and acknovrledgments ;is now 
ar^, or hereafter shall be constituted and 
established f)y the laws of this government, 
under obedience of his iioyal Highnoss. his 
heiri! iind success irs, provided they do ni> 
way enfringe tlie jjrivileges above specified. 

"Given under my hand and seal at Fort 
James in New York in Manhattan Island 
the 8th day of April, in the 17th year of 
the reign of our sovereign lord Charles 
the Second by tlie grace of God, of Eng- 
land, Scotlantl, France and Ireland, King, 
Defender of the Faith &c., and in the 
year of our Lord dad 106."). 

Richard Nicolls. 

^'Entered in the o/'/ice of record in New York, 
the day and year above written. 

M.\TTiiiAs NicoM.s, Secretary.'" 

About seven years after the date of the 
above instrument, the following confirma- 
tions to portions of it were agreed 'o by 
Governor Cartertt and Council: 

Nkw Jersev May liSth 1672. 

rjpon the addres.s of James Grover, John 
Bowne, Richard Hartshorne, Jonathan 
Flolmes, patentees, and James Ashon and 
John Hanse, a.%sociates, imj^owerea by 'the 
patentees and a-ssociates of the towns of 
Middlctown and Shrewsbuiy, unto the 
Governor and Council for confirmation of 
certain jirivileges granted unto them by 
Colonel Richard Nicolls, as by patent un- 
der his hand and seal bearing date the SUi 
(Uiy of April Anno Domini (3ne thousand 
si.v hundred sixty five, th" Governor and 
Council do confirm unto thes:ud patentees 
and associates, these particulars tollowing, 
being their rights, contained in the afore 
said patent, viz : 

Imprimis: That the said patentees and 
associates have full power, license and au- 
thority to dispose of the said lands ex- 
pressed in the said patent, as to them shall 
seem meet. 

11. That no ministerial power or cler- 
gyman shall he imposed on among the in- 
habitants of the said laiul. so as to enforce 
any that are contrary mindi'il to (•(nitribtile 
to their nnuntenance. 



OLD TJMKS [.V OLD MONMOUTH. 



ill. That all realises whatsoever ( crimi- 
nals excepted ) sh-rfll first have a liearing 
wiiiiin their cu^nizance, arxl that no ap- 
jieals unto higher eourts where sentence 
has been passed amongst them under tiie 
value of ten pounds be admitted. 

JV. That all crirninnls ,ind appeals 
above the value of ten pounds, which are 
to be referred unto the afore.'said iiighei' 
courts, shall receive th«ir fletin-minalion 
upon appeals to his Majesty, iioi to be 
hindered. 
' V. That for all eomniission officers 
both civil and militaiy, the iiateutees, as 
sociates and Freeholders, hav« liljerty to 
present two for each office to the Governor 
when they shall think fit, one of which the 
(iovf-rnor is to (kimrimt^ionule to execute the 
said office, and that they have liberty to 
make peculiar prudential laws and consti- 
tuti(tns amongst themselves according to 
the tenor of the said patent. 

Pii. Carteret. 
.Tolm Kenney, Lordue Andress, 8amuel 
Kdsall, Jolin Pike, John Biahop, Council. 

The causes which induced the following 
veiy material modification in the grants 
;iu<l privileges to the Monmouth patentees 
and their associates will be referred to 
hereafter. 

"Directions, instructions and ord"rs made 
by the late L )rds Proprietors of the prov 
ince of East New Jersey, to be observed by 
the Governor, Council and inhabit.nls of 
the said province, bearing date the 31st 
day of July, Anno Domini, 1674, amonjjst 
which there is as followeth, viz: as to in- 
habitants of Nevisinks, considering tbeir 
failhfulne.ss to thf Lords Pro[)rietors that 
upon their petition, their tovrnshij) shall 
be surveyed and shall be incorporated, and 
to have equal privileges with other the 
inhabitants of the Province, and that such 
of them who were the pretemled patentees 
and laid out money in purchasing 1 md 
from the Indians, i^hall have in considera- 
tion thereof five hundred acres of land to 
each of tliem to be alloted by the Gov«r 
nor and Council, in such places that it may 
not 1)6 prejudicial to the rest of the inhab- 
itants, and because there is much barren 
land, after s n-vev taken, the Governor and 
Council may give t'lem allowance." 



OLD MONMOU'i'H DESCRIBED BY AN 
ANCIENT WRITEIl. 

.MlIJI)l,ET0W\, SlIRKH-SIil-RY AND I'RERHOI.D 

I.N' 1708. — New Jersev a Paraui.«;e. 

We copy the following from the cele- 
brated but quite rare work ofOldmixon, 
published in 1708. The Capitals, orthog- 
raphy and italics are aI>out as in the origi- 
nal. 

After dosciibing Midillesex county, he 
says : "We cross over the river fi'om Mid- 
ddlesex into 

Monmouth County ; Where we first meet 
with Middleton a pretty Good Town con- 
sisting of 100 Families and 30,000 Acres of 
Ground on what they call here Out Plan- 
tations. 'Tis about 10 or 12 miles over 
Land, to the Northward of Shrewsbury 
and 20 miles to the .Southward of Piscat- 
tavvay. Not far off, theShoar winds itself 
about like a TTook and being ?andy gives 
N«me to all the Bay. 

Shrewshury IS i\\e mo.st Southern Town of 
the Province and reckon'd the chief Town 
-of the Shire. It contains about IGO Fami 
lies and 30.000 Acres of OmC Plantations, 
belonging to its Division. 'Tis situated on 
the Side of a fresh Water Stream, thence 
Cidled Shrewsbury River, not far from 
its Mouth. Between this Town and Mid- 
dleton is an Iron Work but we flo not un- 
derstand it has been any great Benefit to 
the Proprietors. Col. Morris is building a 
Church at the Falls. There's a new town 
in the County called 

Freehold, which has notbeenlaid outand 
inhabited lo.,g. It does not contain as yet 
abWvw 40 Families and as to its Om/! Planta- 
tions we suppose they are much the ."iame 
in nnmbei- with the rest and may count it 
about .30,000 acres. 

We have not <Iivided the counties into 
Parishes and that for a good reason, there 
l)eing none, nor indeed a Church in the 
whole Province worth that Name. But 
there are several Congrejrations of Church 
of Kuf/land men as at Shrewsbury, Amhoy, 
Elizabeth Town and Freehotd whose Minis- 
ter is Mr. John Beak ; his Income is 6.51. a 
year ; and a Church is building at Salem. 

In another place Oldmixon in speaking 
of the first settlers of New Jersey says : 

" We must note that most of the first 
English Inhabitants in this country (East 



OLD TIMES I^^ OLD MONMOUTH. 



and West Jersey) were Dessenters, and 
most of them Quakers an<l Anabaptists. 
These people are generally industrious ; 
Be their Ifypocrisy to th«mselves it" they 
are Hypocrites; but we must do them the 
.Justice to own tliat they are the fittest to 
inhabit a n«w discovered Country, as po- { 
scssinji Industry, and shunning those pub- , 
lick Vices which beget Idleness an<l Want. 
Their enemies drove great numbers of 
th«m out of England, and the Jerseys had 
their share of them. The People here are 
for this l\eason Dissenters to this Day. 
their being but two Church of England 
Ministers in both Provinces ; and this 
may be one reason why there are no 
Parish Churches, which the Inhabitants 
may be afraid to build, least it might be a 
temjitation for more Orthodox Divines to 
come among them. 

"A gentleman asking one of theProprie- 
taries ' If there were no Lawyers in the Jer- 
seys^ ' Was answered ' No.'' And then 
' If there were no Physicians f The Propri- 
etor replied 'iVo' '■ Nor Parsdnaf adds 
the Gentleman. ' No,' says the Proprie- 
tor. Upon which the other crv'd ' What 
a huppy placf ymist tJiis be and how loorthy the 
name of Paradice !'' We do not perhaps 
differ more from this gentleman than we' 
agree with him." 

Oldmixon derived his information of 
New Jersey from two of the Proi)rietors 
as will be seen by the following extract 
from his preface : 

" Mr Dockwra and Dr Cox were both so 
kind as to inform him fully of the Jeiisevs 
and Mr. Pen did him the same Favor for 
Pennsylvania ; these three Gentlemen do- 
ing him the Honor to admit him into 
their Friendship." 

OLD MONMOUTH UNDER THE 
DUTCH. 

Governor Parker, in his valuable address 
before the New Jersey Historical Society, 
produced the old town book of Middle- 
town township, which gives the history of 
this .section of East Jersey from 1667, to 
1702. After tlie Dutch conqicest in 1673, it 
was stated that little or nothing is recorded 
in the town book during Ihoir biiof rule of 
less than a year. 

Your readers may remember tiiat the 
Dutch had the sui)remacy in New York 
and New Jorsev until 1664. when tlio 



English conquered the Dutch. In 1673, 
a war having agnin broken out between 
England and Holland, a small Dutch 
squadron was sent over and arrived at 
Staten Island, July 30th. Captain Man 
ning, the English officer temjiorarily in 
command at New York, surrendered at 
once without any effort to defend the 
place and the Dutch again resumed sway 
over New York, New Jersey and settle- 
ments along the Delaware. They retained 
it however only a few months, as by a 
treaty made in February following, these 
places were ceded back to England, 
though the English appear not to have 
taken formal possession until November 
following. During this short time while 
the Dutch were again in authority, em- 
bracing the time that Governor Parker says 
the Middletown township book records 
but little or nothing, the following items 
relating to Old Monmouth, are found 
among the official records of the Dutch at 
New York. The first is an order issued 
shortly after their arrival ; the orthography 
is given as we find it : 

" The inhabitants of Middletovrn and 
Shrewsbury, are hereby charged and re- 
quired to senxl their deputies unto us on 
Tuestlay morning next, for to tnat with us 
upon articles of surrendering their said 
towns under the obedience of their High 
and Mighty Lords, the States General of 
tlie saitl United Provinces, and his serene 
Highness, the Prince of Orange, or by re- 
fusall we shall be necetsitated to subdue 
the placos thereunto by force of arms. 

" Dated at New Orange this 12th day of 
August. A. D. 1673. 

"CORNELIS EVERTSF, Ir" 
" J AC015 BeNCKES." 

In compliance with the above order, 
deputies from Shreivsbury. Middletown 
and other places in East Jt-rsey, apjieareil 
in court on tht» ISth of August, and upon 
their verbal request the same privileges 
were granted to them as to Dutch citizens. 

" August 19th 1673. Mi<ldletown, Shrews- 
bury and otiier towns in Achter Cod. to 
name two deputies Ciich, who shall nunii- 
nate three persons for .Schout and three 
for Secretarys, ou» of whice said nominat- 
ed per-ons l)y us shall be elected fur fach 
town, three migestrates and for ilie six 
towns, one .Schout, and une Secretary. 
".lACor. Bknckes." 

''CORN'EI.IS EVF.KTSE, Jr." 

Achter Coll above mentioned, is said to 
mean " beyond the hills," that is, beyond 
Bergen Hiils. The [)utrl! in New York it 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MOl^; MOUTH. 



is stated sometimes called Old Monmouth 
and other parts of East Jersey, beyond 
Bergen Hills, by this name. 

" August 23d, 1673. Middletown and 
Shrewsbury, reported that they had nomi- 
nated double the number of magistrates. 

"August 24th, from the nominations 
made by the inhabitants, the following 
were selected and sworn, viz : 

"John Hanoe (Hance?), Eliakim War- 
del, Hugh Dyckman. 

" Sept. 6th, 1673. Captain Knyff and 
Captain Snell were sent to administer the 
oath of allegiance to the citizens of the 
various towns in East .Jersey to tlie 
Dutch. 

•' 14th of 7 ber, Captain KnyfF and Li«ut. 
Snell having returned yesterday from 
Aghter Coll, report that, pursuant to their 
commission, they have administered the 
oath of allegiance in the form herein before 
set forth, under date of to the inhabi- 
tants of the undersigned towns, who are 
found to number as in the lists delivered 
to Council. 

" Elizabethtown 80 men ; 76 took o.ath, rest absent. 

Newark 86 " 75 " " 

Woodbridge 54'" , 53 " 

Piscataway 43 " 43 " " 

Middletowu 60 " 52 •' , " 

Shrewsbury 68 " 38 '• 18 Quaker)' 

promised allegiance, the rest absent." 

The following officers of the militia, 
elected, were sworn in by Captain Knylf 
and Lieut. Snell, by order of the Council 
of War, viz : 

Middletown, Jonathan Hulmes. Cap- 
tain ; Jolin Smith, Lieutenant ; Thomas 
Whitlock, Ensign. 

Shrewsbury, William Newman, Cajitain, 
John Williamson, Lieutenant ; Nicies 
Brown, Ensign. 

''29th, 7 ber, 1673, Notice is this day sent 
to the Magistrates of the towns, situated 
at the Nevesin^s, near the sea coast, 
which tiiey are ordered to publish to their 
inhabitants, that on the first arrival of any 
ship from sea, they shall give the Governor 
the earliest possible information thereof. 

"Sept. 7th, 1673, Whereas, the late chosen 
Magistrates of Shoursbury, are found to be 
Persons whoes religion Will NotiSufter them 
to take on any oath, or administer the 
same to others, whereof th«>y Can Not be 
tit Persons for tliiit office, I have therefore 
though fit to order that by ye sd inhabi- 
tants of ye sd towne a New Nomination, 
shall be made of four persons of true Pro- 



testant Christian religion, oiit of which I 
shall Elect two, and Continue one of ye 
former for Magestrates off ye sd towne." 

" Dated att ffort William hendrick, this 
29th, 7 ber, 1673. A. Colve." 

The date 7th ber, in the above extracts, 
means September, and the persons in 
Shoursbury [Shrewsbury] who could not 
take the oath were Quakers.) 

"March 8th, 1674, In council At fort Wil- 
liam Hendrick : 

" Read and considered the petition ot 
Bartholomew Appelgadt, Thomas Appel- 
gadt and Richard Saddler, requesting in 
substance that they be allowed to purcliase 
from the Indians, a tract of land, situated 
about two lea!*nes on this side of Middle- 
town, near the Nevesings, fit for settlement 
of 6 or 8 families &c. Wherefore it was 
ordered : 

"The Petitionees request is allowed anil 
granted on condition, that after the land 
be purchased, they take out patents in 
form for it and actually settle it within 
the space of two years,' after having effect- 
ed the purchase, on pain of forfeiture. 

"April 18th, 1674, John Bound (Bowne?), 
and Richard Hartshoorne, residing at 
Middletown, both for themselves and 
partners give notice that the land granted 
to Bartholomew Applegadt, Tho. Apple- 
gadt and Richard Sadler, in their petition 
is included in tueir, the Petitioners patent, 
requesting therefore that the said land 
may be again denied to said Appelgadt. 

" Ordered, That the petitioners shall 
within six weeks fr®m this date, prove, 
that the said land is inclu<led within their 
patent, when further order shall be made 
in the premises. 

" April 19th, 1674, A certain proclama- 
tion being delivered into Ueuncil from the 
Magestrates of the Toune of Middletoune, 
prohibiting all inhabitants from depart- 
ing out of said toune, unless they give 
bail to retui-n as soon as their business 
will have been performed, or they be em- 
ployed in public service &c., r^qtiesting 
the Governers approval of the same, which 
being read and considered, it is resolved 
and ordered by the Governer General and 
Council, that no inhabitant can be hinder- 
ei changing his domicile, within the 
Province unless arrested foi' lawful cause ; 
however ordered that no one shall depart 
from the toune of Middletoune, unless he 
previously notifies the Magestrates of his 
intention."' 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTIL 



RANDOM REMINISCENCES 

OF THE 

EARLY HISTORY OF 01,1) MuNMuUTll. 



The Whites Entering Sandy Hook. 

The earli(^st accounts vve have of the 
whites being in the vicinity of Monmouth 
countv is contained in a letter of John de 
Verazzano to Francis 1st, King of France. 
Verazzano entered Sandy Hook -p 'he 
spring of 1524 in the ship Dolphin. Un 
his return to Europe, h« wrote a letter 
dated July 8th, 1524, to the King, giving 
an account of his voyage from Carolina to 
New Foundl^nd. From this letter is ex- 
tracted the following : 

"After proceeding a hundred leagues, 
we found a very pleasaUt situation among 
some steep hills, tlirough which a very 
large river, deep at its mouth, forces its 
way to the sea; from the sea to the estua- 
ry of the river any ship heavily laden 
might pass with the helj^ of the tide, which 
rises eight feet. But as we were riding at 
good berth we would not ventuie up in 
our vessel without a knowledge of its 
mouth; therefore we took a b(iat, and en- 
tering the river we found the country on 
its banks well peopled, the inhabitants not 
differing much from the others, being 
drei^sed out with featliers of birds of vari 
ous colors. They caite towards us with 
evident delight, raising loud shouts of ad 
mira'ion and showing us where we could 
most securely land with our boat. We 
passed up this river about half a league 
when we found it formed a ra(»st beautiful 
lake thrc'! leagues in circuit, upon which 
they were rowing thirty or more of their 
small l)oat« fr'^m one shore to the otner, 
filled with multitudes who came to see us. 
• All of a sudden, as is wont to hit|)p?n in 
navigation, a violent contrary wind blew 
in from th;- sea and forced us to return to 
our ship, greatlv regretting to leave this 
region which seemed so commodious an<l 
delightful, and which we i»upp«>sed must 
ahso contain great riches, as the hills show- 
ed many indication? of minerals.' 

fli.^torians generally concede that the 
furpgoiui; is the first notice we have of the 
whitfs entering Sandy Hook, visiting the 
harbor of New Y rk or ln'ing in the vicin- 
ity of ohl Monmouth. 



ARRIVAL OF .SIR HENRY HUDSON. 

In the year 1609, Sir Henry Hudson 
vi-sited our coast in the yacht or ship Half 
Moon, a vessel of about eighty tons bur- 
then. About the last of August he enter- 
ed the Delaware Bay, but finding th« nav- 
igation dangerous he soon "left without 
going ashote. After getiing out to sea ho 
stood northeastwardly and after awhile 
liauled in, atjd mads the land probably 
not tar distant from Great Egg Harbor. — 
T.'e journal or log book of this vessel was 
kept by the mate, Alfred Juet. nnd as it 
contains the first notices of Monmouth 
county by the whites, remarks about the 
coun ry, its inhabitants and productions, 
first binding, ard other interesting matter, 
an extract is herewith given, commencing 
with September 2nd. 1609, when the Halt 
Moon made land near Egg Harbor. The 
same day, it will be seer, the ship passed 
Barnegat Iiilel, and at nijiht anchored 
near the beach within sight of the High- 
lands. 

Their first impres-^^ion of old Monmouth, 
it will lie seen, was ^' that it is a very gnnd 
land to full in with, and a pleasant land to i'e'cy" 
an opinion which in the minds of our peo- 
ple at the present day show thai good 
sense and correr t judgment were not lack-^ 
ing in Sir llen'v Hudson and his fellow- 
voyagers ! 
Extract from the Li-g-Bork of the Half Moon. 

Sept. 2nd, 1609. — When the sun arose 
we steered nor h again and saw land from 
the west by north lo the northwest, all 
alike, broken islands, and our soundings 
were eleven fathoms and ten fathoms. — 
T"ie course along the land we found to be 
north east. l)v norili. From tiie land wjiich 
we fiist had sight of until we came to si 
great ^ake of waier, as vve could judge it 
to be, {Barnegat Bay,) being drowned land 
which mude il rise, Ike island'^, which was 
in length tvn lengues. The m aith of the 
lake [Ba ncgat Inlet) had mapy sh->als, and 
the sea breaks upon them as il is cast out 
of the mouMi of it. And f'om ihnl lHk<' 
or bay the land lies north by e>;st, and vve 
had a great stream out of the bay ; and 
from t^^enc- our sounilings ^-as t<;.i fatii- 
oms two leagues fVom land, .^t five o'clock 
we anchored, being light wind, and rode 
'in eight fathoms water ; the night wasfnir. 
This night 1 found the land to haul the 
com])ass eight degrees. Far to the north- 
ward of lis we saw high hilLs (Highland f) ; 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



for the day befoio we found not above two 
degrees of variation. 

This is a very good land to fall in uiili, 
and a pleasant land to see. 

Sept. 3d — The morning misty until ten 
o'clock ; then it cleared and the wind 
came to the south southeast, so we weigh- 
ed and stoo'd northward. 'I'he land is very 
pleasant and high and bold to fall withal. 
At three o'clock in the afternoon we cuine 
to tin ee great rivers \ Narrows., Bockaway 
Inlet and the Bariian ); so we stood along 
the northward [Rockaway Inlet,) thintiing 
to have gone in, but we I'ound it to have a 
very sho'-il bar before it for we had but ten 
feet water. Then we cast about to the 
souihward and found two fathoms, thre* 
fathoms and three and a quarter, till we 
came to the so'iihein sideof theni; then 
we had five and six fathoms and returned 
in an hour and a half. 80 we . weighed 
and \yenl in and rode in five fathoms, ooze 
ground, and saw many salmons and mul- 
lets and ra\K ve y iri-eat. The hei^jht is 
40° 30^ {Latitude.) 
First Landing tif the Whites in Old Monmouth. 

Sept. 4th. — In the morning as soon as 
the day was liglit, we saw that it was good 
ri'iing farther up; so we .«<ent our boat to 
sound, and foui.d that it was a very good 
Ir-irbor and four or five fathoms, two cable 
lengths from the shore. Then we weighed 
and went in with our shij). Then our boui 
went on land with our net to fish, and 
caught ten gr«'at mullers of a foot and a 
h:df long, a pla.ioe and a ray as great as 
four men could liaul into the ship. 80 we 
ti'inimed < ui' bo it and rode still all day. — 
At night the wind ble-w hard ai the nortii- 
west, and our anclior came home, and we 
drove on sliore, but took no hurt, and 
thank God, foi- the ground iss'iftsand and 
ooze. 'I'liis day the people of tlie country 
came aboard of us and seemed very glad 
of our coming, and brought gre<-'n tobacco 
leaves and gave us of it for knives and 
beads. They go in deer skins, loose and 
well dressed. They have yellow copper. 
They desire clothes and are very civi! — 
Ttiey have a, great store of maize or Indian 
wheat, whereof 'hey make good bread. — 
The country is full of great and tall o»ks. 

Sept. .5ih. — In the morning, as soon as 
the day was light, tlie wind ceased and the 
■flo.^d came, "^o we heaved off the shij:) 
again into five fathoms .'uid sent our boat 
to sound the bay, and we found that there 
was three fathoms hard by the southern 
shore. Our men went on land then and 
saw a great store of men, women and chil- 



dren, who gave them tobacco at their com- 
ing on lai d. So they went up into the 
woods and saw a great store of very goodly 
oaks and some curraVits, ( prohahly huckle- 
berries). For one of them came on board 
antl brought some dried, and gave me some, 
which were sweet and good. This day 
many of the people came on board, some 
in mantles of feathers, and some in skins of 
divers sorls of good fur.s. Some women 
also came with hemp. 'They had red coi> 
per tobacco pipes, and other things of cop- 
per they did wear about their necks. At 
night they went on land again, so we rode 
very quiet but durst not trust them. 
TIte First White Man Killed. 

Sunday, Sept. 6th.— In the morning was 
fair weather, and our master sent John 
Colman, with four other men, in uur boat 
over to the North side to sound the other 
river ( AWj-om-'s ), being four leagues from 
us. They found by the way shoal water, 
being two ;athonis ; but at the north of 
the river, eighteen and twenty fathoms, 
and very good riding for ships, and a very 
narrow river to the westward between two 
islnnds ^ Staten Islaiul and Bergen Point.) — 
T.ie land they told us, was as pleasant with 
grass and flowers anil goodly trees as ever 
they iiad seen, and here very sweet smells 
came from them. So they went in two 
leagues and saw an open sea ( Neivark Bag), 
and returned, and as they came back they 
♦vere set upon by two canoes, the one hav- 
ing twelve men and the other fourteen 
men. The night cume on and if began to 
rain, so that their match went out; and 
they had one man slain in the fight, which 
was an EngMshman named John Colman. 
with an arrow shot in his throat, and two 
more hurt. It grew so dark that they 
could not find the ship that night, but la- 
bored ^o and fro on their oars. They had 
so great a strain that their grapnel would 
not liold them. 

Sept. 7th. — Was fair, and by ten o'clock 
they returned aboard the ship and brought, 
our dead m-^n with them, whom we carried 
on land and buried and named the point 
after liis name, C'olman's Point Then we 
hois' ed in oitr boat and raised her side 
with Waist boards, for defence of our men. 
So we rode still all night, having good re- 
gard for our watch. 

Sept. 8th. — Was very fair weather; we 
rode still ver\ quietly. The people came 
aboard of us and brought tobacco and In- 
dian wheat, to exchange for knives and 
beads and offered us no violence. So we 
fitting up our boat did mark them to see 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



if they would make any show of the death 
of our man, which they did not.' 

Sept. 9th. — Fair weather. In the morn- 
ing two great canoes came aboard full of 
men ; the one with their bows and arrows, 
and the other in show of buying knives, to 
betray us; but we perceived their intent. 
We took two of them to have kept them, 
and put red coats on them, and would not 
suffer the others to come near us. So they 
went on land and iwo ■others came aboard 
in a canoe ; we took tne one and let the 
other go : but he which we had taken got 
up and leaped overboard. Then we weigh- 
ed and went off nito the chanriftl of the 
river and aLchored there all night. 

The foregoing is all of the log-book of 
Juet that relates to Monmouth county. — 
The next morning the Half Moon proceed- 
ed up the North River, and on her return 
passed out to sea without stopping. 

In the extract given above, the words in 
italics are not of course in the original, 
but are underscored as explanatory 



THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN. 

What the Indians thought of the Whites 
and their ships. — The Natives Astonish- 
ed. — The Man in Red and the Red Man. 
— Fire Water and its F'irst Indian Vic- 
tim.— The First In<lians Drunk, &c. 
Af er Sir Henry Hudson's departure 
from til* shores of Monmouth he j)ioceed- 
ed towards Manhattan Island and thence 
up the river now bearing his name. The 
following traditionary account, the coming 
of the Whites according to Heckwelder. 
was handed down among both Delaware 
and Iroquois Indians. It is not often we 
meet in fact or fiction a more interesting 
story than 'his plain, simple Indian tradi- 
tion. After explaining that ihe Indian 
chief:^ of old Monmouth County, notifiea 
the chiefs on York or Manhattan Island, 
and that the cniefs of the surrounding 
country finally gathered at tlie last named 
place to give a I'ormal reception, the tradi- 
tion says : 

A long time ago oetore men with a white 
skin had ever been seen, some Indians 
fishing iit a place wh>-re the sea widens, 
espied something at a distance moving 
upon the water. They hurried ashore, 
colle(!led their neighbors, who togetlier 
returned and viewed intently this aston- 
ishing phenomenon. What it could be 



baflHed conjecture. Some supposed it to 
be a large fish or other animal, others that 
it was a large house floating upon the se-\. 
Perceiving it moving towards the land, the 
spectators concluded that it would be 
proper to send runners in different direc- 
tions t* carry the news to their scattered 
chiefs, that ihey might send off for the im- 
mediate attendance of their wariiors. — 
These arrived in numbers to beiiold the 
sight, and perceivinti that it was actually 
moving towards them, that it was coming 
into the river or bay, ttiey conjectured 
that It must be a remarkably large house 
in which the ManiU& or Great Spirit was 
coming to visit them. They were much 
al'raid and yet under no apprehen?ion that 
the Great Spirit would injure them. They 
worshipped him. The chiefs now assem- 
bled at New York Island and consulted in 
what rrumuei' they should receive their 
Manitto; meat was prepared (or a sncri 
lice. The women were directed to prepare 
their best victtials. Idols or images were 
examined and put in order. A grand 
dan.-e they thought would be pleasing, 
and in addition to the sacrifice might ap- 
pease him if hungry. The conjuror.s were 
also set t'M work to determine what this 
phenomenon portended and what the result 
would be. To tlie conjurors, men, women 
and children looked lor protection. Ut- 
terly at a loss what to do, and distracted 
alternately between hope and ftar, in the 
confusion a grand dance commerced. — 
Meantime fresh runners arrived, declaring 
it to be a great house of various colors and 
'uU of living creatures. It now appeared 
tliat It was their Manitto, probably bring- 
ing some new kind of game. Others ar- 
riving df-chired ii positively full of people 
of different color and dress from theirs, 
ami that one appeared altogether in red. 
( This was sujiposed to be Sir Henry Hud- 
son.) This then must be the Manitto. — 
They were lost in admiration, could not 
imagine what the vessel was, whence it 
came, or what all tliis portended. They 
are now hailed from the vessel in a Ian 
guage they could not understand. They 
answered by a shout or yell in their way. 
The house or large canoe as some call it, 
stojas. A smaller cai1>oe comes on shore 
with the red man in it; some stay by the 
canoe to guard it. The thief and wise 
men form a circb into which the red man 
and two attendants enter. He salutes 
them with friendly countenance, and they 
return the salute nfier their manner. — 
They are amazed at their color and dress, 



()ldtimp:s in old monmoutii. 



paiticuhu'ly with him, who glitteiing in 
I'ed wore Bomething, perhaps lace and but- 
tons, they could not comprehend. He 
must be the great Manittu, they thought, 
but why should he have a white skin ? 

A large elegant Hockhack ( gourd, i. e. 
l)ot(le, decanter, &c.,) is brought by one of 
the supposed Manitlo's servants, from 
which a substance is placed into smaller 
cups or glasses and handed to tlie Manitto. 
Me drinks, lias the irlasses refilled and 
handed to the chief near him. He takes 
it, smells it, and passes it to the next, who 
does the same. The glass in this manner 
is p.Tssed around the ciiMe and is about to 
be returned to the red clothes man, when 
one of the Indians, a great warrior, har- 
angues them on ihe impropriety of return- 
ing the cup unemptied. It was handed 
to them, he said, by the Manitto, to drink 
out of as he had. To follow his example 
would please him — to reject might provoke 
his wrath; and if no one else would he 
would drink it himself, let what would fol- 
low, for it were better tor one man to die, 
than a whole nation to be destroyed. He 
then took the glass, smelled it, again ad- 
dressed them, bidding adieu, and drank 
its contents. All eyes are now fixed upon 
tlie first Indian in New York, who had 
"tasted the poison, which has since effected 
so signal a revolution in the condition of the 
native Americans He soon began to stag- 
ger. Thfl women cried, supposing him in 
fits. He rolled on the ground ; they be- 
moan his f-ile ; they thought him dying; 
he fell asleep ; they at first thought he had 
expired, but soon perceived he still breath- 
ed ; he awoke, jumped up, and <leclared 
he never felt more liappy. He asked for 
more, and the whole assemljly imitating 
him became intoxicated. While this m- 
toxication lasted, the whites confaned 
themselves to their vessels ; after it ceased, 
the man with the red clothes returned 
and distributed beads, axes, hoes and 
stockings. They soon became familiar, 
and conversed by sii/ns. The whites made 
them understand that they would now 
return home, but the next year they 
would visit them again with presents, and 
stay with them awhile; but as that they 
could not live without eating, they should 
then want a little land to sow seeds, in 
order to raise herbs to put in their broth. 

Accordingly a vessel arrived the season 
following, when they were much rejoiced 
to see each other; but the whites laughed 
when they saw axes and hoes hanging as 
ornaments to their breasts, and the stock- 



ings used as tobacco pouches. The whites 
now put handles in the axes and hoes and 
cut down trees before their eyes, dug the 
ground, and showed them the use of stock- 
ings. Here, say the Indians, a general 
laugh ensued — to think they had remain- 
ed ignorant of the use of these things, and 
had borne so long such heavy metals sus- 
pended around tlieir necks. Familiarity 
daily increasing between them and the 
whites — the latter prepared to stay with 
them — asking them only for so much land 
as the hide of a bullock spread before them 
would cover; they granted the, request. — 
The whites then took a knife, and, begin- 
ning at a plane on the hide, cut it up into 
a rope not thicker than the finger of a lit- 
tle child. They then took the rope and 
drew it gently along in a circular form, 
and took in a large piece of ground ; the 
Indians were surprised at their superior 
wit, but they did not contend with them 
for a little ground, as they had enough. — 
They lived contentedly together for a long 
time, but the new comers from time to 
time asked for more land, which was read- 
ily obtained, and thus gradually proceeded 
higher up the Makicannittuck [Hudson River), 
lantil they began to believe they would 
want all their country, which proved 
eventually to be the case. 

The name which the Indians first gave 
to the whites was Woapsiel Lennape, which 
signified white people. But in process of 
time, when disagreeable events occurred 
between them, the Indians laid aside this 
name and called Lhem Sckwonnack — the 
salt people — because they came across the 
salt water ; and this name was always after 
apjilied to the whites. 

The foregoing traditions are said to have 
been handed down among both Delaware 
and Iroquois. It has also been said that 
th^ Indian name for the Island upon which 
New York is situated ( Manhattan ) is de- 
rived from a word signifying '• the place 
where we all got drunk together." Home 
New York writers take umbrage in this 
statement, and say the drunken scene oc- 
curred up the river ; but the exact place 
where it occurred is immaterial. Perhaps ' 
some may think the city has since that 
time fairly earned that name ! Ancient 
writers testify that the first Indians who 
drank liquor generally became intoxicated 
by one drink, by two at most. 

The Delawares owned and were spread 
over the whole country, from New York 
Island to the Potomac. They say they 
had a great many towns, among other 



10 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



places a number on the Lennapewihittack 
or Delaware river, and a great many in 
Sheyichbi on that part of the country now 
named Jersey. That a place named Chi- 
cAoAacJ, now "Trenton, on the Lannape- 
wihittuck a large Indian town had been 
for many years together, where their great 
chief resided. The Delawares say Chick- 
ohacki is a place on the east side of the 
Delaware river above Pbdadelphia, at or 
near a great bend where the white people 
have since built a town which they call 
Trenton. Their old town was on a high 
bluff, which was always tumbling down, 
wherefore the town was called Chieho- 
hacki, which is lumbling banks, or falling 
banks. 

When the Europeans first arrived at 
York Island'the Great Unami, chief of the : 
Turtle tribe, resided southward across a 
large stream or where Amboy now is. — 
That from this town a very long sand bar 
(Sandy Hook) extended far into the sea. 
That at Amboy and all the way up and 
down their large rivers and bays and on 
/?reat islands they had towns when the 
Europeans first arrived, and 'that it was 
their forefathers who first discovered the 
Europeans on their travel, and wlio met 
them on York Island after they landed. 



SIR HENRY HUDSON'S VISIT 10 OLD 
MONMOUTH. ■ 



A celebrated historian, in speaking of 
Hudson's visit to Monmouth County and 
vicinity in September, 1609, says : 

'* For a vreek Hudson lingered in (he 
U:)wer bay, admiring the goodly oaks 
wliich garnished the neighboring shores, 
and holding frequent intercourse with the 
native savaiies of Monmouth, N. J. The 
Half Moon visited in return by tiie wan- 
dering Indians, who flocked on board the 
strange vessel, clothed with niantles of 
feathers and robes of furs and adorned 
with rude copper necklaces. Meanwhik^. 
a boat's crew was sent to sound the river 
which opened to the northward. Passing 
through the Narrows they found a noble 
liarbor with very good riding for ships ; a 
little further on they came to the Kills 
between Staten Island and Bergen Neck — 
a narrow river to the westward between 
two islands. Thw lands on both sides 
were as pleasant with grass and flowers 
and goodly trees as ever they had seen. 



and very sweet smells came from them. 
Six miles up the river they came' to an 
open sea, now known as Newark Bay. In 
the evening, as the boat was returning to 
the ship, the exploring party was set upon 
by two canoes full of savages, and one of 
the English sailors, named John Colman. 
was killed by an arrow shot into his 
throat. The next day Hudson buried, 
upon an adjacent beach, the comrade who 
had shared the dangers of his polar ad- 
ventures, to become the first European 
victim to an Indian weapon, in the placid 
waters he had now reached. To coru 
mem'orate the ev^nt, ■ Sandy Hook was 
^ amed Colman's Point. The ship was 
soon visited by canoes full of native war- 
riors ; but Hudson, suspecting their good 
faith, took two savages, put red coats on 
them, while the rest were not suffered to 
approach.'" 

In regard to the place where Colman 
was buried, most writers have taken it for 
granted that it was Sandy Hook, and one 
that it was Coney Island. But mere is 
much plausibility in tiie fallowing, from a 
paper published many years ago in the 
Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical 
Society : 

" Dr. Strong, in his Histoi-y of Flalbusli. 
supposes Colman's Point to be Coney Island^ 
and t4iat Colman had been corrupted into 
Coney, but (in the opinion of the writer of 
this paper), it is a point about seven miles 
west ofS.»ndy Hook, called by the Indians 
Mones-conk. and on Gordon's map called 
Point Comfort. Hudson, on the fifihof 
September, removed from his anchorage 
in the Horse Shoe, not counting it safe to 
remain there. A strong northwest wind 
had the night previous brought home the 
anchor and driven them ashore In the 
morning, having got off without injury, 
he sent the boat to sound the bay and 
found three fathoms hard by the Southern 
shore. If, then, he left the Horse Shoe, as 
it is probaV)Ie, there is no such roadstead 
as that described, with three fathoms hard 
by the southern shore, untd we reach the 
bay between Point Comfort and Brown's 
Point, where the steaKiboatR now land. 
The waters and a part of the shore in thi^ 
vicinity were called by tlie Indians Chin- 
garora — pronounced Shingarora — a name 
which ought by all means to have distin- 
guished the flourishmg village .{idjaeent, 
instead of the uncouth name of Keyport." 

The paper f'lom which the foregoing ex- 
tract was made, was furnished to the N. J. 
Historical Society by the Rev. Mr. Mar- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



11 



cellus. well known to the older citizens of 
Freehold, who took great interest in all 
matters j^iertaining to the early history of 
Old Monmouth, and whose decease was 
not only regretted by an extensive circle 
of person il friends, but by every peison 
interested in the early history of our 
state, cognizant of hi'' earnest efibrts to 
rescue from oblivion the fading records of 
the pioneers of Old Monmouth. 

In commenting upon Hudson's first 
landing, Mr. Marcelius says : 

" The firsr interview with Hudson and 
his crew presented an interestingspectacle 
—a grand subject for a painter. The 
Indians had never before seen a ship. 
The complexion of the men, their dress, 
language and manners, the sails nnd tack- 
ling of the ship — the vastness of the vessel 
itself — all was wonderful." 

The fourth of September, 1609, is a 
memorable day in the annals of our state, 
as on that day, on the soil of Monmouth, 
occurred the first landing ofwhitesin New 
Jersey. 

'i'vvo days before- this — that is, on Sep- 
tember 2nd — Sir Henry Hudson sailed 
near the inlet now known as Jiarnegat 
Inlet. The loy: book of his ship speaks 
of the sea breaking upon its 'shoals, and 
from this it derive'* its name. The first 
Dutch exjjlorers named it on their chart 
'■ Barende-gat," meani^ig " breakers inlet," 
or an inlet with breakers. Barende-gat 
was gradually corrupted to Barndegat, 
Bardegf't, and finally to Barnegat. 



RANDOM REMINISCENCES 

OE THE 

EARLY HISTORY OP ObD MONMOUTH. 



TRAVELLING TWO CENTURjES AGO. 



Distinguished Quakers Visit Old Mon- 
mouth. 



Crossing the State in Ancient Times — Per- 
ilous Travelling — Indian Hotels and 
Hospitalities — Singular Accident and 
Remarkable Recovery— Friends' Meet- 
ing, in Middletown and Shrewsbury — 
Purgatory in Old Monmouth — Where 
was it ? — Novel Life Preservers, &c. 



It is dovibtful if any more ancient ac- 
counts of travelling across New Jersey can 
be found than the following, extracted 
from the journals of John Burnyeate and 
George Fox, distinguished members of the 
Society of Friends ; in company with them 
were Robert Withers, George Patison and 
others, some of whoHi returned by the 
same route a few months afterwards. — 
These noted Quaker preachers left Mary- 
land in the latter part of February, 1672, 
and arrived at New Castle, Delaware, 
about the first of March. From thence 
Burnyeate gives the following account of 
their journey across the State to Middle- 
town : . 

" We staid there (New Castle) that night, 
and the next day we got over the river 
(Delaware). When we got over we could 
not get an Indian for a guide, and the 
Dutchman we had hired would not go 
without an Indian, so we were forced to 
stay there that day. The next day we 
rode about to seek an Indian, but could 
get none to go ; but late in the evening 
there came some from the other side ol 
the town, and we hired one, and so began 
our journeying early the next morning to 
travel through the country, which is now 
called New Jersey ; and we travelled we 
supposed nearly forty miles. In the even- 
ing we got to a few Indian wigwams, which 
are their houses ; we saw no man nor wo 
man, house nor dwelling, that day, for 
there^welt no English in that country 
then. 

'' We lodged that night in an Indian 
wigwam, and lay upon the ground as the 
Indians themselves did, and the next day 
we travelled through several of their towns, 
and they were kind to use, and helped us 
over the creeks with their canoes ; we 
made our horses swim at the sides of the 
canoes, and so travelled on. Towards 
evening we got to an Indian town, and 
when we had put our horses out to grass 
we went to the Indian King's house, who 
received us kindly, and showed us very 
civil respect. But alas ! he was so poorly 
provided, having got so little that day, 
that most of us coi^ld neither get to eat or 
drink "in his wigwam ; but it was because 
he had it not — so we lay as well as he, up- 
on the ground — only a mat under us, and 
a piece of wood or any such thing under 
our heads. Next morning early we jtook 



12 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



horse and trav*llefl through several 
Indian towns, and that night we lodged 
in the woods ; and the next morning go^ 
to an English plantation, a town called 
Middletown. in East Jersey, where there 
was a plantation of English and several 
Friends, and we came down with a Friend 
to his house near the water-side, and he 
carried us over in his boat and our horses 
*.o Long Island.'" 

Though Burnyeate says " there dw*lt 
no English in that country then " it must 
hot be inferreoi that the Europeans at this 
time had no settlements in* West Jersey. 
The settlements there were near the Del- 
aware river ; Btirnyeate, Fox and their 
companions had to travel inland some dis- 
tance from the Delaware so as to be able 
the more easily to cross the head of 
streams which empty into that river. 

These Friends were travelling in great 
haste to get to a half yearly meeting at 
Oyst«r Bay, L. I., " to settle som» difficul- 
ties there, which was the cause of our hard 
travelling." Crossing the State then in 
three or four days was considered fast 
travelling. 



GEORGE FOX VISITS MIDDLETOWN 
AND SHREW«r,URY. 

The following is George Fox's account 
of the same journey and also of his return 
trip. 

" We departed thence from New Castle, 
Del., and got over ttie river not without 
great danger of some of our lives. <iVhen 
we were got over we were troubled to pro 
cure guides ; which were hard to get and 
very changeable. Then had we that 
wilderi\ess to pass through since called 
West Jersey not then inhabited by Eng- 
lish ; so that we have travelled a whole 
d<»y together without seeing man or wo- 
man, house or dwelling place. Sometirnes 
we lay in the woods by a fire and some- 
t;me in the Indians' wigwams or houses. 
We came one night to an Indian town 
and lay at the king's house, who was a 
very pretty man. Both he and his wife 
received us very lovingly and liis attend- 
ants (such as they were) were very respect- 
ful to us. They laid us mats to lie on ; 
but provision was very short with them, 
having caught but little that day. At 
another Indian town where we staid the 
king came to us and he could speak some 
English. I spoke to him much and als > 



to his people, and they were very loving to 
us. At length we came to Middletown, an 
En^rlish plantation in East Jeisey, and 
there were friend^ there, but we could not 
stay to have a meotinL' at that time, being 
so earnestly pres'-ed in our spirits to get to 
the half yearly meeting of Friends of 
Oyster Bay, Long Island, which was near 
at hand. We went with a friend, Richard 
Hartshorne, brother t -> Hugh Hartshorne. 
the tipholster in Tondon, who received us 
gladly to his liouse, where we refreshed 
ourselves and then he carried us and our 
horses in h'r- own boat over a great water, 
which held us most part of the d.iy in get- 
ting over, and set us upon Long Island.'" 

From thence Fox proceedt-d to Graves- 
end, L. I. In -lune tollr»wing he returned 
to New Jersey. Of his return tri]> he 
writes as follows : 

" Being clear of this place we hired a 
sloop and the wind serving set out for the 
new country now called Jersey. Passing 
down the bay by Conny Island, Naton Is- 
land and Stratton Ish'.nd we came to 
Richard Hartshornu at Middleton harbor 
about bi-eak of day on the 27ih of sixth 
month. Next day ve rode abo;it 'hirty 
miles into that country tlirougli the woods 
and over very l>ad bogs, on« worse than 
all the rest, the descent into which wa- 
so steep that we were fain to slide down 
with our horses and then let th»m lie and 
breathe themselves before thev go on.^ — 
This place, the people of the place called 
Purgatory. We got at length to Shrews- 
bury in East Jer.5ey, and on First day had 
a precious meeting there, to whi(;h Friends 
and other people came far, and the bles>ed 
presence of the Lord was with us. The 
same week we had a men and women's 
meeting out of most parts of New Jersey. 
They are building a m<'eting place in the 
midst <'f them, and there is a monthly and 
a general raeeti..g set up, which will be of 
great service in those parts, in keeping up 
the gospel order and government of Christ 
Jesus, of the increase of which thf^re is no 
end, that they who are faithful may see 
that all who profess the holy truth liv<^ in 
pure religion and walk as hecometh the 
gospel. While we were at .Shrewsbury an 
accident befel which for a time was a great 
exercise to us. 

John Jay, a friend of Barbadoes who 
came with us from Rhode Island and in- 
tended to accompany us through the 
woods to Maryland, being to try a horse, 
got upon his back and the horse fell a run- 
ning, cast him down upon his head and 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



13 



broke his neck as the peaple said. Those 
that were near him took him up as dead, 
carried him a good way and hiid him on a 
tree. I got to him as soon I could and feel- 
ing liim, concluded he was dead. As I stood 
pitying him and his family I took hold of 
his hair and his head turned any way, his 
neck was so limber. Whereupon I took 
his head in both my hands and setting my 
knees against the tree I raised his head 
and perceived there was nothing out or 
broken that way. Then I j^ut one hand 
under his chin and the other behiud hio 
head and raised his head two or three 
times with all my strength and brought it 
in. I soon perceived his neck began to 
i;row stiff again and then he began to 
rattle in his throat an ■ quietlj' after to 
breathe. The people were amazed hui I 
bade them have a .jood heart, be of good 
faith and carry him into the house. They 
did so and set him by the fire. I bid them 
get tiim something warm to drink and put 
him to bed. After he\had been in the 
linuse a while he begifn to speak, but di i 
not know where he had been. The next 
day we passed away and he with us, pretty 
well, about sixteen miles to a meeting at 
Middletown through woods and' bogs and 
over a river wliere we swam our houses 
and got over ourselves upon a hollow tree. 
Many hundred miles did lie travel with us 
after this. 

To this meeting came most of tb© people 
of the town. A glorious meeting we had 
and the truth was over all, blessed be the 
gret Lord God forever. After the meeting 
we went to Middletown harbor about five 
miles, in order to take our long journey 
next morning through the woods towards 
Maryland, having hired Indians for our 
guides. I determined to pass through the 
woods on the other side of the Delaware 
that we might head the creeks and rivers 
;is much as possible. The ninth of seventh 
month we set forward, passed through 
many Indian towns and over some rivers 
and bogs. When we had rid over forty 
miis we made a fire at night and lay by it. 
As we came among the Inians we declared 
the day of the Lord to them. Next day 
we travelled fifty miles as we computed, 
and at night finding an old house, which 
the Indians had forced th^ people to leave, 
we raad« a fire and lay there at the head 
of Delaware bay. The , ext day we swam 
our horses over a river about a mile, at 
twice, first to an Island called Upper Dini- 
dock and thence to the main land, having 



hired Indians to help us over in their 
canoes." 

The island called by Fox Upper Dmi- 
denk is now known as Burlington Island; 
it was formerly called Matinicunk, which 
name Fox has misunderstood. He also 
calls the Delaware river here Delaware 
bay as he does in other places. By his 
journal it would seem no whites at that 
time lived at Burlington though a few 
whites had lived there and in the vicinity 
many years before. 

It is impossible to read the accounts of 
travelling at this early period without 
being forcibly reminded of the contrast in 
travelling ih«n and now. Many of the 
Quaker preachers speak of crossing streams 
in frail Indian canoes, with their horses 
swimming by their side ; and one, the 
fearless, zealous John Richardson, (so 
noted among among other things for his 
controversies with " the apostaie George 
Keith") in substance recommends, in 
travelling across New Jersey, " for safety, 
travellers' horses should have long tails." 
The reason for this singular suggestion 
was that in crossing streams the frail 
canoes were often capsized, and if the 
traveller could not swim, he might prob- 
ably preserve his life by grasping his 
horse's taik Mr. Richardson describes how 
one man's life was preserved by this 
novel life preserver ; in this case the life- 
preserver being the long tail of Mr. R.'s 
own horse ; and in commenting upon it 
he quaintly observes " that he always ap- 
proved horses' tails being long in crossing 
rivers." 

Long before Fox and Burnyeate crossed 
the state the whites, part'cularly the 
Dutch, frequently crossed our state by In- 
dian paths, in going to and fro between 
the settlements on the Delaware and New 
Amsterdam (New York), though they 
have left but meagre accounts of their 
journeyings, and their are strontr probabili- 
ties that the Dutch from New Amsterdam, 
after furs and searching for minerals, 
crossed the state as far as Burlington Is- 
land, Trenton, and points far up the Dela- 
ware from forty to fifty years before the 
trip of these Quaker preachers. 

That their journeyings were not always 
safe, is shown in the following extract of a 
letter written by Jacob Alricks, Septem- 
ber 20th, 1669 : 

" The Indians have again killed three or 
four Dutchmen, and no person can go 
through ; one messenger who was eight 



14 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



days out returned without accomplishing 
his purpose." 

The next day he writes : 

I have sent off messenger after messen- 
ger to the Manhattans overland, but no 
one can get through, as the Indians there 
have again killed four Dutchmen. 

At the time of writing these letters 
Alricks resided in Delaware, and they 
were addressed to the Dutch authorities 
at New York. 



CONFISCATION IN THE REVOLUTION. 

Loyalists of Frebhold, Middletown, 

Shrewsbury, Upper Freehold and 

Dover. 



The sales of property in New Jersey ad- 
judged to be confiscated during the war, 
appear to have been in accordance witli the 
act of the Legislature, April 18th, 1778, 
entitled '' An Act for taking charge of or 
leasing the real estates and for forfeiting 
the persona! estates of certain fugitives and 
offenders, <fec." 

We give below a copy of an official ad 
vertisement of property to l.s sold in old 
Monmouth under this act. While among 
the names are found some who were quite 
noted for their services inider the British, 
of whom mention is made in another chap- 
ter, yet there are probably several, who, 
because of conscientious scruples against 
war and to avoid being drafted, left the 
county and sought refuge in the British 
lines on Long Island or New York. This 
was probably the case in the township of 
Shrewsbury where Quakers were quite nu- 
merous. How the Quakers fared who 
stayed at home and risked drafting may 
be inferred from an extract, which we pro- 
pose to give hereafter, describing drafting 
in Burlington county. 

During the course of the war it would 
seem that almost every man in the county 
capable of bearing arms, except Quakers, 
took an active part in the fearful strife on 
one side or the other. 

As an evidence of how not only neigh- 
bor was arrayed against neighbor but rela- 
tive against relative, it is only necessary to 
compare the names in this advertisement, 
with the names given in the list of the 
Monmouth militia. Not only are old fami- 



lies represented on both sides, but in some 
cases persons of the same name are promi- 
nent on both sides ; for instance, Elisha 
Laurence, mentioned below, was a Colonel 
in the Loyalists, while anothei' Elisha Law- 
rence, was a Lieutenant Colonel on the 
American side. 

Most of the persons mentioned below 
were of the most honorable class of tories, 
or loyalists, as they called themselves — 
persons of education, wealth and standing, 
and for that very reason their activities in 
and advocacy of the British cause was very 
injurious to the Americans, so much so 
that it is said that at one time in the early 
part of the war the Refugees gained the 
ascendancy and had possession of Freehold 
village for about a week or ten days and 
we find that about Nov., 1776, General 
Washington "found it necessary to detach 
Colonel Forman of the New Jersey militia 
to suppress an insurrection which threat, 
ened to break out in Monmouth county, 
where great numbers were well disposed 
to the Royal cause." 

'^Monmouth Cou7ity,ss: Whereas inqui- 
sition havf been found and final judgment 
entered thereon in favor of the State of 
New Jersey against persons herein men- 
tioned — Notice is hereby given that the 
real and personal estates belonginu' to Sam- 
uel Osburn, Thomas Leonard, Hendrick 
Van Mater, John Throckmorton, Daniel 
Van Mater, Jo'm Longstreet jr, Alexander' 
Clark, Joseph Clayton, Israel Britton, 
John Oweson, John Thompson, Thomas 
Bills and Benzeor Hinkson, all of thf' 
township of Freehold, will be sold at ^"ree- 
hold Court House, beginning on Wednes- 
day the 17th day of March next and con- 
tinue from day to day until all are sold. 

"ThomHs Crowel, George Taylor jr, 
James Stillvell, John Mount, boatman. 
Conrad Hendricks, Joseph Baley, John 
Cottrell, Richard Cole, Samuel Smith, 
John Bown, James Pew, Thomas Thorne, 
Ezekiel Tilton, Joseph Taylor, John Til- 
ton, of Middletown and William Smith of 
Middlesex having lands in said 'own, will 
be sold at public vendue, beginning on 
Monday tin* 22nd day of March next at the 
house of Cornelius Swart and continue from 
dav to day until sold. 

'* John Taylor and William Walton at 
New York but having property in Shrews 
bury, John Williams, Christopher Talman, 
John Wartiell, Michael Price, James 
Mount, John Williams, Jr., John Pintard, 
Clayton Tilton, Samuel Cook, James 
Boggs, James Curlis, Asael Chandler, 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



16 



John Morris, William Price, Robert Mor- 
ris, Peter Vannote, James Price, John and 
Morford Taylor, John Hankinson, Timo- 
thy Scobey, William Laurence, Peter War- 
del, Oliver Talman, Richard Lippencott, 
Josiah White, Benjamin WooUey, Eben- 
ezer Wardell, Robert Stout, Nathaniel 
Parker, John Hampton, Samuel Layton, 
Jacob Harber, Samuel Layton, Jacob Em 
mons, Britton White, Tobias Kiker and 
Daniel Lafetter, (Lafetra?), late of the 
township of Shrewsbury, and Garnadus 
Beekman of New York, having property 
in said township, will be sold at public 
vendue, beginning on Monday the 29th of 
March at Tinton Falls and continue from 
day to day until ail are sold. 

'* John Leonard, Grisbert Giberson, Sam- 
uel Stillweli, Barzilla, Joseph, Thomas, 
William and SamuelGrover, John Horner, 
Fuller Horner, John Perine, William Gi- 
berson, Jr., Mallakeath Giberson, John 
Polhemus, Jr.. Benjamin Giberson, Sam- 
uel Oakerson, EHsha Laurence and /Jotin 
Laurence sons of John, late of Upper 
Frei-hold and Isaac Allen late of Trenton, 
will be sold at public vendue beginning on 
Monday the 5th day of April next at 
Walls Mills and continue until all are 
soil. 

" John Irons and David Smith, of the 
township of Dover, will be sold ai Free- 
hold Court House at the time of sales 
there. 

"The two emissions called in and bank 
notes will be taken in pay. No.credit will 
be given. The sale will begin at 9 o'clock 
each day. Also deeds made to the pur- 
cliasers agreeable to act of Assembly by 
" Samuj^l Forman 
" Joseph Laurence 
" Kenneth Hankinson 

" Commissioners. 

" February 17th. 1779." 



CAPTAIN WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM. 

How American prisoners were treated by 
the British at New York. H(>rrible con- 
fession by the British Provost Marshal. 
The following is copied from the Ameri- 
can Apollo, February 17th, 1792. In it will 
be found some startling confessions, show- 
ing how hellish wag the treatment of our 
ancestors who were confined as prisoners 
in New York during the Revolution by 
this fiend in human shape. It furnishes 



another reason why our forefathers so de- 
tested the British. It will amply repay 
perusal. Captain Joshua Huddy, and 
many other old Monmouth patriots, were 
for a time in this villain's charge : 
" The life, confession, and last dying words 
of Captain William Cunningham, former- 
ly British provost marshal in the city of 
New York, who was executed in London 
the lOth of August, 1791. 
" I, William Cunningham, was born in 
Dublin barracks in the year 1738. My 
father was trumpeter to the Blue Dragoons, 
and at the age of 8 years I was placed with 
an officer as his servant, in which station 
I continued until I was 16, and being a 
great proficient in horsemanship, was tak- 
en as an assistant to the riding master of 
the troop, and in the year 1761 was made 
sergeant of dragoons, but the peace com- 
ing the year following, I was disbanded. — 
Being bred to no profession, I took up 
with a woman who kept a gin shop in a 
blind alley near the Coal Quay ; but the 
iiouse being searched for stolen goods and 
my doxy taken to Newgate, I thought it 
most prudent to decamp ; accordingly set 
off for the North and arrived at Drogheda, 
where in a few months <?fter 1 married the 
daughter of an exciseman by whom 1 had 
three sons. 

" About the year 1772 we removed to 
Newry where I commenced the profession 
of scowbanker, which is the enticing of 
mechanics and country people to ship 
themselves for America on promises of 
great advantage, and then artfully getting 
an indenture upon them ; in consequence 
of which, on their arrival in America, they 
are sold or obliged to serve a term of years 
for their passage. I embarked at Newry 
in the ship Needham, for New York, and 
arrived in that port the 4th day of August, 
1774, with some indented servants I kid- 
napped in Ireland, but who were liberated 
in New York on account of the bad usage 
they received from me during the passage. 
In that city I used the profession ot break- 
ing horses and teaching ladies and gentle- 
men to ride, but rendering myself obnox- 
ious to the citizens in their infant struggles 
for freedom, I was obliged to fly on board 
the Asia man of war, and from thence to 
Boston, where my own opposition to the 
measures pursued by the Americans in 
suoport of their rights, was the first thing 
that recommended me to General Gage ; 
and when the war commenced I was ap- 
pointed provost marshal to the royal army^ 



16 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



which phxced me in a situation to w^reak 
my vengeance on the Americans. I shud- 
der to think of the murders I have been acces- 
sory to, both ivith and without orders from gov- 
ernment, especially while in New York, during 
which time there were more than two thousand 
prisoners starved in the difi'erent churches by 
stopping their rations, lohich I sold. 

" There were also two hundred and sev- 
enty-five American prisoners and obnox- 
ious persons executed, out of which num- 
ber there w«re only about one dozen pub- 
lic «xecutions, which chiefly consisted of 
British and Hessian deserters. The mode 
of private executions was thus conducted : 
A guard was disp'atched from the provost 
about half after twelve at night to the 
Barrack street, and the neighborhood of 
the uj^per barracks, to order the people to 
shut their window shutters and put out 
their lights, forbidding them at the same 
time to i)resume to look out of their win- 
dows and doors on pain of death, aftc^r 
which, the unfortunate prisoners were con- 
ducted, gagged, just behind the upper bar- 
racks and hung without ceremony and 
there buried by the black pioneer of th@ 
provost. 

'* At the end of the war I returned to 
England with the army and settled in 
Wales, as being a cheajier place of living 
than in any of the populous cities, but 
being at length persuaded to go to Lon 
don, I entered so warmly into thy dissipa- 
tion of the capital, that I soon found my 
circumstances much embarrassed, to relieve 
which I mortgaged my half pay to an army 
agent, but that being soon expended, I 
forged a draft for three hundred pounds 
sterling on the board of ordnance, but be- 
ing detected in presenting it for accept- 
ance, I was apprehended, tried and con- 
victed, and for that offence am here to 
suffer an ignominious death. 

"I beg the prayers of all good christians, 
and also pardon and forgivness of God for 
the many horrid murders I have been ac- 
cessory to. 

'' William Cunningham." 



THE ATTACK ON TOMS RIVER. 

Burning of the village. Capture of Cap- 
tain Joshua Huddy. A day of horrors. 
In giving an account of this affair we 
shall first coi)y a brief statement from 
Have's Collections, the editor of which 



visited- the place in 1842 in search of his- 
torical information relating to oiden times 
in Old Monmouth: 

" In the American Revolution, a rude 
fort or blockhouse was erected a short dis- 
tance north ol the bridge, at the village of 
Toms River, on a hill about a hundred 
yatds east of the road to Freehold, on 
land now belonging to the heir.s of Elijah 
Robbins, deceased. In the latter part of 
the war, this blockhouse was attacked by 
a superior force of the enemy. Its com- 
mander. Captain Joshua Huddy, most gal- 
lantly delended it until his ammunition 
was expended and no alternative but sur- 
render left After the little brave garrison 
was in their power, it is said they deliber- 
ately murdered^five men asking for quai- 
ters. From thence Captain Huddy, Jus- 
tice Randolph, and the remaining prison- 
ers were taken to New York, where, suffer- 
ing the various progressions of bai'barity 
inflicted upon those destined to a violent 
or lingering death, those two jzentlemen, 
with a Mr. Fleming, were put into the 
hold of a vessel. Captain Huddy was 
ironed hand and foot, and shortly after 
barbarously hanged on the shore of the 
Highlands of Nave'sink." 

During the war of the Revolution the 
chief organ of the tories and Bfitish in 
America was "Rivington's Royal Gazette," 
published in New York, of which paper 
and its editor we may have occasion to 
speak hereafter. Quite complete filfP of 
tins paper are pr*'served in the librai'v of 
the New York Historictl Society. The 
following is its version of the attack on 
Toms River: 

" The 'tuthentic account of the expedi- 
tion against the rebel past on 'i'oms River, 
New Jersey, undpr the Honorable Board 
of Associated Loyalists : 

" On Wednesday the 20th inst ( March 
1782,) Lieutenant Blanchard of the armed 
whale boats, and about eighty men belong- 
ing to them, with Captain Thomas and 
Lieutenant Roberts, both of the late Bucks 
county volunteers, and between thirty and 
forty other refugee loyalists, the whole 
und«r the command of Lieutenant Bianch- 
ard, proceeded to Sandy Hook under the 
convoy of Captain Stewart Ross, in the 
armed brig Arrogant, where they were de- 
tained by unfavorable winds until the 23d. 
About 12 o'clock on that nighl, the party 
landed near the mouth of Toms River and 
marched to the blockhouse at the town of 
Dover ( now Toms River ) and reached it 
ju.-it at daylight. On their way they were 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



17 



challenged and fired upon, and when they 
came to th« works they found the rebels, 
consisting of twenty-five or twenty-six 
twelve months men and militia, apprized 
of their coming and prepared for defence. 

" The post into which they had thrown 
themselves was six or seven feet high, 
made with large logs with loop holes be- 
tween and ft number of brass swivels on 
the top, which was entirely open, nor was 
there any way of entering but by climbing 
over. They had, besidf^s swivels, muskets 
with bayonets and long pikes for their de- 
fence. Lieutenant Blanchard summoned 
them to surrender, which they not only 
refused, but bid the party defiance ; on 
which he immediately ordered the place 
to be stormed, which was accordingly 
done, and though defended >with obstinacy, 
was soon carried. The rebels had nine 
men killed in the assault, and twelve made 
prisoners, two of whom are. wounded. The 
rest made their escape in the confusion. — 
Among the killed was a major of the mili 
ti^, two captains and one lieutenant. The 
captain of the twelve months men station- 
ed there, is amongst the prisoners, who 
are all brought safe to town. On our side, 
two were killed — Lieutenant Ire'iell of the 
armed boatmen and Lieutenant Inslee of 
the loyalists, both very brave officers, who 
distinguished themselves on the attack 
and whose loss is much lamented. Lieu- 
tenant Roberts and five others are wound- 
ed, but it is thought none of them are in a 
dangerous way. , 

'' The Town, as it is called, consisting of 
about a dozen houses, in which none but 
a piratical set of banditti resided, together 
w.th a grist and saw mill, wer«», with the 
blockhouse burned to the ground, and an 
iron canno:.i spiked and thrown into the 
river. A fine large barge (called Hyler's 
barge,) and another boat in which the 
rebels used to make their excursions on 
the coast, were brought off. Some other 
attempts were intended te have been 
made, but the appearance of bad weather, 
and the situation of the wounded, being 
without either surgeon or medicines, in- 
duced the party to return to New York, 
where they arrived on the twenty- fifth." 

The attack on Toms River was made on 
Sunday morning, March 24th, 1782. Cap- 
tain Huddy received notice of the expect- 
ed attack on the previous evening, and at 
once notified the inhabitants ; sentinels 
were carefully stationed, and towards 
morning Captain Huddy sent a scouting 
party to reconnoitre. This party missed 



the British ; it is probable they went down 
along the river, while the enemy, guided 
by a refugee named William Dillon, cam6_ 
up the road near where" the Court House 
now stands. The sentinels staiioned some 
distance outside of the fort, on the ene- 
my's approach, fired their guns to notify 
the little garrison. Before reaching the 
fort, the British were joined by a band of 
refugees under Dg^en port, whose stamping 
ground was in old Dover township; him- 
self and men had cabins and caves in the 
woods, by the he^id waters of Cedar Creek, 
Toms River and other streams. No Tory 
or Tory sympathizer was tolerated in the 
village of Toms River, which was the only 
reason that caused Rivington's Royal Ga- 
zette to call its people " banditti.'' 

Upon the apjjroach of the British, the 
Americans opened fire so effectually that 
the British account acknowledges that 
seven were killed or wounded, though the 
damage inflicted upon them must have 
been greater. A negro refugee killed, was 
'eft by them outside of the fort for the 
Americans to bury. On the side of the 
Americans, among the casualities, were 
Major John Cook, John Farr and James 
Kinsley, killed ; Moses Robbins wounded 
in the face; John Wainwright fought un- 
til shot down with six or seven bullets in 
him. From circumstantial evidr-nce it is 
probable that Captain Ephraim Jenkins 
was among the killed. Among the pris- 
oners taken were Captain Joshua Huddy, 
Daniel Randolph, Esq., and Jacob Flem- 
ing. One of the guards named David im 
lay, escaped and hid in a swamp until the 
British left. Major Cooke ( at one time 
of the 2nd regiment, Monmouth militia ), 
it is said was killed outside the tort by a 
negro. 

All the houses in the village were burned 
except two, one belonging to Aaron Buck 
and the other to Mrs. Studson. Aaron 
Buck was an active Whig, and one reason 
why his house was spared was owing, it is 
supposed, to the fact that his wife was a 
neice of William Dillen, the refugee guide. 
Mrs.Studson's husband, Lieutenant Joshua 
Studson, had been murdered by the ref- 
ugee Captain John Bacon, a short time 
before, and the Britisli probably thought 
injury enough had already been done to 
her. Among the houses burned was one 
belonging to Captain Ephraim Jenkins, 
and also one in which Abiel Aikens lived 
in which the first Methodist sermon at 
Toms River was preached, by Rev Benja- 
min Abbott, in 1778. 



18 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



What a terrible day to the inhabitants 
of Toms River was that memorable Sab- 
bath I Probably not less than a hundred 
women and children were rendered home 
less ; the killed and wounded demanded 
immediate attention ; husbands and fath- 
ers were carried away captive, their house- 
hold goods, provisions — their all destroyed. 
Some families were entirely broken up, the 
heads killed, mothers and chilren scattered, 
never as families meeting again. 

Memoranda relating to persons mentioned 
IN the foregoing. 

William Dillon, the refugee guide, had 
once been tried and sentenced to death 
at Freehold, but subsequently pardoned, 
and the first we hear of him afterwards 
was as pilot of a British Expendition, which 
came from New York into old Cranberrj^ 
inlet, then open, opposite Toms River, to 
recapture the ship " Love and Unity," 
which a short time previous had been 
captured by the Americt.rjs. 

Aaron Buck was an active member of 
the militia. The Dillon whose daughter 
he married was a much better man than 
his brother, who acted as guide to the ref 
ugees. Aaron Buck left two daughters 
from whom have descended several re- 
spectable shore families. One married 
Judge Ebenezer Tucker, formerly mem- 
ber of Congress, after whom Tuckerton, in 
Burlington county, was named. The other 
married John Rogers, of Dover township, 
ancester of many, persons now residing in 
Ocean county. It is said that after the 
war Mr. Buck in a temi3orary fit of in- 
sanity, committed suicide by hanging 
himself on board his vessel at Toms River. 

Daniel Randolph, who then resided at 
Toms River, was well known throughout 
old Monmouth. A tory witness on tha 
ti'ial of Captain Richard LippencoU, in 
New York, testified that " Esquire Daniel 
Randolph, was a man of prominence and 
influence among the Whig?." He was 
soon afterwards exchanged for Captain 
Clayton Tilton. 

Captain Epliraim Jenkins was in com- 
mand of a militia company during the 
war. After the fight at the Block House, 
his family was scattered and his children 
oared for by strangers. 

Abiel Aikons suffered severely during 
the war. In his old age (1808), the Legis- 
lature passed a law for his relief. He was 
the earliest friend of Methodism in that 
vicinity. 



TOMS RIVER DURING THE REVO- 
LUTION. 



Toms River during the Revolution wat. 
a place of considerable importance owing 
chiefily to the fact thai old Cranberry In- 
let, nearly opposite, was then open and 
perhaps the best inlet on our coast, except 
Little Egg Harbor. On this account it 
was a favorite base of operations for Ameri- 
can privateers on the lookout for British 
merchant vessels carrying supplies to the 
enemy at New York. In another chapter 
are given some extracts from ancient 
authorities, showing that Toms River and 
vicinity was the scene of many stirring 
incidents during the war. The village 
was occupied by the Americans as a mili- 
tary post probably during the greater part 
of the Revolution. The soldiers state- 
tioned here were sometimes twelve months 
men, commanded by diflerent officers, 
among whom it is supposed were Captains 
Bigelow. Ephraim Jenkins, James Mott, 
John Stout and Joshua Huddy. The 
duties of the militia stationed at Toms 
River, appear to have been to guard the 
inhabitants against dej^redations from the 
refugees; to check contraband trade by 
way of Cranberry Inlet to New York, and 
to aid our privateers who brought vessels 
into old Cranberry Inlet. 



A TERRIBLE DAY FOR THE REF- 
UGEES. 



Peace Declared — How th« news was re- 
ceived by the ^riends of the *' Lost 
Cause " — Confisciition, Banishment, Des- 
pair. 

f ivil wars have ever been noted for being 
more terrible than those where one na- 
tion was against another; as in the last 
named case stranger meets stranger on the 
battle field, while in civil wars oftimes, 
neighbor is arrayed against neighbor, 
father against son, brother against brother. 
In the war of the Revolution it was the 
lot of our ancestors to be compelled to un- 
dergo the hardships of both at the same 
time. They had not only to face the 
armies which England landed upon our 
soil but also thousands of native born 
Americans, who from what they thought a 
sense of duty, or for plunder or revenge, 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



19 



rallied to th« cause of Kin.^ and crown. — 
The number of Loyalists, that is, Ameri- 
cans who aided the British, was much 
larger than is generally supposed. Sabine 
in his history of the Loyalists estimat^es 
the number who took up arms to aid the 
enemy at 25,000. The Loyalists them- 
selves, in an address to the King, 1779, 
claimad that " the Americans then in his 
Majesty^ s service exceeded in number the troops 
enlisted by Congress to oppose them, exclusive 
of these who were in pri?ite ships of war." 
In 1782 they stated that there were many 
more Loyalists in the King's service than 
troops in the Continental army. At the 
close of the war they claimed that their 
losses were £7,046,178, besides debts to the 
amount of £2,354,135. Of their claims the 
British Government in 1788 had liquidated 
about £2,000,000. 

Old Monmouth suffered during the war 
to an extent hardly equalled, certainly not 
surpassed by any other section of the coun- 
try, and when the welcome news of peace 
was announced the patriots of this as well 
of every other section of the Union were 
overjoyed beyond exp'ession. But the 
news which brought gladness to their hearts, 
was a terrible blow to the Refugees. It 
was not only the announcement to them 
that the cause for which they had so long 
fought was irretrievably lost, but also that 
they must forsake the land of their birth 
and seek homes elsewhere, that there 
property here would be confiscated and 
that without money or friends they 
must commence life anew on the cold 
shores of Nova Scotia or elsewhere. The 
following from an ancient authority, de- 
scribes how the news of peace was received 
by the Refugees in JSTew York : 

'' When the news of peace was known, 
the city of New York presented a scene 
of distress not easily described; adherents 
' to the Crown who wen- in the ai'my tore 
the lappels from their coats and stamped 
them under their ftet and exclaimed that 
they were ruined ; others cried out that 
they had sacrificed everything to prove 
their loyalty and were now left to shift for 
themselves without the friendship of 
their King or country." 

In September, previous to the final 
evacuation of New York by the British, 
upwards of 12,000 men, women and chil- 
dreir embarked at the city and at Lone 
and Staten Islands for Nova Scotia and the 
Bahamas. 

Some of these victims to civil war tried 
to make merry at their doom by saying 



that they were bound to a lovely country 
whei'e there are nine months winter and 
three months cold weather every year ! 
While others in their desperation would 
have torn down their houses, and had they 
not been prevented would have carried off 
the bricks of which they were built. 

Those who went north landed at Port 
Roseway (now Shelburne) NovaScotiaand 
at St. Johns, whpie many, utterly destitute, 
were supplied with food at public charge 
and were obliged to live in huts built of 
bark and rough boards. A mong the ban- 
ished ones were persons whose hearts and 
hopes had been as true as Washington's, 
for in the division of families, which every 
where occurred and which formed oije of 
the most distressing circumstances of the 
conflict, their wives and daughters, who 
although bound by the holiest ties to Loy- 
alists, had given their sympathy to the 
right from the beginning, and who now in 
the triumph of the cause which had their 
pi'ayers, went meekly — as woman ever 
meets a sorrowful lot — in hopeless, inter- 
minable exile. 

(3^E0RiE KEITH, THE FOUNDEtt OF 
FREEHOLD. 



The following outline of the life of Rev. 
George Keith is by William A. Whitehead 
Esq. author of the History of East Jersey 

Among those selected by the Proprieta- 
ries in England to serve them in East Jer- 
sey was George Keith, a native of Aber 
deen, an eminent Quaker, although origi- 
nally a Scotch Presbyterian ; and among 
all whose namt^s subsequently became 
widely known, his was one of those which 
obtained the greatest renown. Those who 
first welcomed him to the province as a 
fellow helper in subduing the wilderness 
could hardly have prefigured for him the 
course which events opened to him in this 
and the adjoining province of Pennsylva- 
nia. The circumstances which probably 
led to his acquaintance with the leading 
Scotch Proprietaries was his having under 
his charge in 1683 at a school which he 
taught in Theobalds, a son of Robert Bar- 
clay. He was appointed Surveyor General 
on the 31st of July, 1684, but did|n6t reach 
the province until the spring of the follow- 
ing year. On the 9th of April he present- 
ed his credentials to the Council of Pro- 
prietors, but as the office to which he was 
appointed was already filled by William 



20 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Haige, under a oommission emanating 
from Deputy Governor Eudyard, they 
found themselves delicately situated, and 
postponed the consideration of Mr. 
Keith's commission until their next meet- 
ing. It was unanimously agreed, however, 
that he should have one of their houses 
as directed by the Proprietors. (Thomas 
Warne was directed to " clear out '" the 
one he inhabited to make room for him.) 

The Council at the appointed time were 
urged by Keith to deci le in his favor, and 
they finally desired both of the apjilicants 
to appear before them on the 12th of June, 
when the office, in consequence of tha ab- 
sence of Ml'. Haige and the inability, from 
some cause of his deputy. Miles Forster, 
was declared vacant and Mr. Keith au- 
thorized to take the oaths and assume the 
duties. 

Besides performing the general duties of 
his office, for which he was well qualified, 
being " an excellent surveyor," he ran the 
division line between East and West Jer- 
sey in 1687 ; but in 1689 he left the pro- 
vince for Pennsylvania. Then residing at 
Freehold, of which settlement he was the 
founder, and where at the time of his re- 
moval he had " a fine plantation," he was 
induced by the solicitations of the Qua- 
kers of Philadelphia to accept the super- 
intendence of a school in that city for fifty 
pounds, a house for his family, and what- 
ever profits might accrue, with the prom- 
ise of an increase to one hundred and 
twenty pounds after the first year, the 
poor to be taught gratis. This is the first 
and only allusion to his family I have 
noticed. He did not remain long in this 
humble situation (vacating it the next 
year) and we are warranted in attributing 
its acceptance to other inducements morp, 
likely to aftect a man of his character 
than the pecuniary remuneration named. 
Having been eminent as a preacher and 
writer among the Quakers for several 
years, he became a public speaker in their 
religious assemblies in Philadelphia. 
Possessing quick natui'al talents improvad 
by considei'able literary attainments, he 
was acute in argument and able in logical 
disputations and discussions of nice dis 
tinction in theological matters ; but hav- 
ing great confidence in his own suj^erior 
capacity he was apt to indulge in an over- 
bearing disposition, not altogether in ac- 
cordance with christian moderation and 
charity. 

These peculiarities of mind and temper- 
ament naturally impelled him to assume 



the part of a leader, and he soon, through 
his talents and energy, gathered a party 
inculcating plainness of garb and language 
and other points of discipline ; there be- 
ing in his opinion " too great slackness 
therein." Connected with these religious 
tenets were the political doctrines of the 
abandoament of all forcible measures to 
uphold secular or worldly government 
and the emancipation of the negroes after 
a reasonable term of service. 

Although his opinions and views met 
the approval of a large number of Friends, 
occasioning a serious division in that be- 
fore united body — father and son, husband 
and wife, friend« and relatives who had 
usually worshiped together, though still 
professors of the same faith in the main, 
being seen going to different places of wor- 
ship, '• heats and bitterness " being engen- 
dered, occasioning "many labors and watch- 
ing, great circumspection and patience;" yet 
as they did not meet with the general ac- 
ceptation he expected, Keith became cap- 
tious and indulged in censure and re- 
proach, accusing some of the most es- 
teemed and approved ministers with pro- 
mulgating false doctrines — although it is 
said the points he now condemned had 
been strongly advocated in his writings — 
and declaring those only who were asso- 
ciated with him true Quakers. 

He was charged with exercising an over- 
bearing temper and an unchristian dispo- 
sition of mind in disparaging manv of the 
society, and at a meeting of ministers in 
Phlladelj^hia in June, 1692, ''a declaration 
or testimony of denial " was drawn up, in 
which both he and his conduct were pub- 
licly denounced. 

From this decision Keith appealed to 
the general meeting of Fri^^ncls, at Bur- 
lington, and in the meanwhile wrote an 
address to the Quakers in which, as on 
different occasions verbally, he spok* in. 
such disparaging, if not calumnious man- 
ner of the Deputy Governor and other 
functionaries, as to bring ui:)on him the 
ire of the civil magistrates (themselves 
Quakers) and he was in consequence pro- 
claimed in the market place, by the com- 
mon crier, a seditious person and an ene- 
my to the King and Queen's government. 
The general meeting confirming the 
declaration of the ministers, the sei)ara- 
tion became complete, but Keith continu- 
ed preaching and writing in support of his 
views and for the establishment of his fol- 
lowers until early in 1694, when he appeal- 
ed to the yearly meeting in London and 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



21 



appeared there in person ; but his behav- 
ior was such as led to the approval of the 
proceedings against him and his authority 
and influence were at an end. 

This controversy occasioned mucVi dis- 
turbance in the province of Pennsylvania 
and many of the pamphlets to which it 
gavw birth are yet extant. 

Excited it would seem by the opposi- 
tion he had met with, although for a time 
he retained a considerable number of ad- 
herents in England, and disgusted with 
the society from which he had received so 
little sympathy while aiming for its ad- 
vancement in what he conceived the es- 
sentials of true religion, Keith abjured the 
doctrines of the Quakers and became a 
zealous clergyman of the established 
Church of England. 

He officiated for some time in his mother 
country, and in 1702 returned to America 
as a Missionary of the " Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts ; sent out to travel through the 
difFarent provinces for the purpose of in- 
quiring into their true condition, their 
wants in regard to their spiritual interests 
and to arouse in the people a sens*^ of the 
duties of religion." 

His labors are said to have been very 
successful, particularly in Pennsylvania, 
New Jersey and New York to which he 
devoted moi-e of his time than he did to 
the other provinces — from his previous 
acquaintance with the people. In the 
first two especially a large number of 
those Quakers who had adopted his views 
in the dissensions of 1691 and 1692, be- 
came converts to the doctrines and disci- 
pline of the Church of England. 

He retixrned to England by way of Vir- 
ginia and received a benefice in Sussex, 
worth one hundred and twenty pounds 
per annum, where he continued until his 
death to write against the doctrines of 
the Quakers. Prund's History of Pennsyl- 
vania says from well authenticated ac- 
count it is asserted that he thus expressed 
himself on his deatli bed : " I wish I had 
died when I was a Quaker for then 1 am 
sure it would have been well tor my soul." 



SINGULAR INDIAN CLAIMS. 

About the last remnant of Indians re- 
maii^ing in our state, sold their lands to 
thfi^hites about 1801, and the year fol- 
loi'i,ing removed to New Stockbndge, near 
O&v'^ida Lake, New York, from whence, 
abo'yit 1824, they removed to Michigan, 



where they purchased a tract of land of 
the Menomonie mdians, on both sides of 
the Fox river near Green Bay. 

In 1832, the New Jersey tribe, reduced 
to less than forty souls, delegated one of 
their number named Barlliolomew .S. Cal- 
vin, to visit Trenton and apply to our Leg- 
islature for remuneration for hunting and 
fishing privileges on unenclosed lands, 
which they alleged had not been sold with 
the land. Calvin was an aged man who 
had been educated at Princeton, where he 
was at the breaking out of the Revolution 
when he joined the American army. Th-e 
claim, so unusual, was met in a spirit of 
kindness by our Legislature, who directed 
the S!.aie Treasurer to pay to the agent of 
the Indians, the sum of two thousand dol- 
lars, thus satisfactorily and honorably ex- 
tinguishing the last claim the Indians 
brough'. against our state. Hon. Samuel 
L. Southard, at the close of a speech made 
at the time, said : "It was a proud fact in 
the history of New Jersey, that every foot 
of her soil had been obtained from the 
Indians by fair and voluntary purchase 
and transfer, a fact that no other st^te of 
the Union, not even tlie land which bears 
the name of Penn, can boast." 

In 1678, a somewhat similar claim was 
brought by the Indians, against Richard 
Hartshorne, an early settler of old Mon- 
mouth, who had previously bought of 
them Sandy Hodk, and lands around the 
Highlands. In that year, to prevent their 
trespassing ujjon his lands, he iiad to pay 
theto to relinquish their claims to hunt, 
fish, fowl, and gather beach plums. The fol- 
lowing it a copy of the agreement : 

" The 8th of August, 1678. Whereas 
the Indians pretend tjiat formerly, when 
they sold all the land upon Sandy Hook, 
they did not sell, or did except liberty to 
plumbs, or to say the Indians should 
have liberty to go an Sandy Hook, to get 
get plumbs when they please, and to hunt 
upon the land, and fish, and to take dry 
trees that suited them for cannows. Now 
know all men by these presents, that I, 
Richard Kartshorne. of Portland, in tne 
county of Monmbuih, in East Jersey, for 
peace and quietness sake, and to the end 
there may be no cause of trouble with the 
Indians and that I may not for the future 
have any trouble with them as formerly I 
had, in their dogs killing my sheep, and 
their hunting on my lands, and their fish- 
ing, I have agreed as followeth : 

"These presents witnesseth, that 1, 
Vowavapon, Hendricks, the Indians sonn, 



22 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



haying all the liberty and privileges of 
pluming on Sandy Hook, hunting, fishing, 
fowling, getting cannovvs &c., by these 
presents, give, grant, bargain, sell, unto 
Richard Hartshorwe, his heirs and assigns 
forever, all the liberty and privilege of 
pluming, fishing, fowling, and huHting, 
and howsoever reserved and excepted by 
the Indians for him, the said Richard 
Hartshorne, his heirs and assigns, to have 
hould, possess, and injoy forever, to say 
that no Indian, or Indians, shall or hath 
no pretense to lands or timber, or liberty, 
privileges on no pretense whatsoever on 
any part a parcell of land, belonging to 
the said Kichard Hartshorne, to say Sandy 
Hook or land adjoining to it, in considera- 
tion the said Hnrtshorne, hath paid unto 
the said Vowavapon, thirtee?.' shillings 
money; and I the said Vowavapon, do 
acknowledge to have received thirteen 
shillings by these presents. Witness my 
hand and seal. 

''Vowavapon X his mark. 

"Tocus X his mark. 
" Signed, sealed and delivered in the 
presence of John Stout." 

THE RARITAN INDIANS. 

An ancient work says that when the 
wliites first came to this country, the 
Raritans lived on the south side <if Raritan 
bay and river, but they were flooded out 
by a storm, previous to 1650, and then 
removed to the north side. They after- 
wards it is supposed mingled with the 
Sa/ihicans or Wapingas, who finally left 
the state and located on the east side of 
the Hudson river, in New York state, near 
Anthony's INose. 



AN INDIAN DINNER— A SAVORY 
DISH. 

Bethsheba, tue Indian Queen. 



The last remnant of the Indians who 
frequented the lower part of old Mon- 
mouth, had their principal settlement at a 
place called Edgepelick or Edge Pillock 
about three miles from Atsion in Burling- 
ton county, from whence they removed to 
Oneida Lake, New York, in 1802. Before 
their removal, members of this tribe with 
their families would visit the shore once a 
year and spend some time fishing, oyster- 



ing, making baskets, &c. The most noted 
among the last Indians who regularly vis- 
ited the shore were Charles Moluss, his 
wife, and wife's sister, who bore the eu- 
l^honious names of Bash and Suke, among 
the ancient residents of old Stafford town- 
ship, but in Little Egg Harbor, Burlington 
county, where they also were frequent vis- 
itors, Moluss' wife was known as Bathshe 
ba, and considered as a kind of Indian 
Queen, on account of the great respect 
shovvn to her by her people and by the 
Quakers of Burlington, becauseof herpos- 
sessing more intelligence, and having amore 
l>re.posessing personal appearance than the 
rest of her tribe. At Tuckerton, when her 
company visited there and put up their 
teats, Bathsheba was generally invited to 
make her home with some one of the 
principal inhabitants of the jilace. At 
Barnegat, her company generally camped 
on the place now owned by Captain Timo- 
thy Falkinburgh, wliere they were on 
friendly terms with the whites and quite 
disposed to be hospitable, but Bathsheba, 
Indian Queen though she may hivve been, 
occasionally prepared Indian delicacies for 
the table which the whites seldom appre- 
ciated. Some twenty years ago Eli Collins, 
a well remembered aged citizen of Barne- 
gat, told the writer of this, that when he 
was K young man, one time he had been 
out from Iiome all day, and on his wav 
back, stopped at the hut of Moluss. His 
wife Bash, or Bathsheba, was boiling some- 
thing in a pot which sent forth a most de- 
lightful odor to a hungry man, and he was 
cordially invited to dine. As he had bees 
without anything to eat all day he willing- 
ly accepted the invitation ; but he soon 
changed his determination when he found 
the savory smelling dish was hop toad sovj) ! 



INDIAN PETER. 



A Tradition oe Imlaystown. 



About a century ago an Indian named 
Peter, said to have been connected by re- 
lationship and in business with the noted 
Indian Tom, after whom some, we 
think erroneously, considered Toms 
River to be named, resided at Toms River, 
but owing to an unfortunate habit of mix 
ing too much whisky with his water,^. he 
became unfortunate, and about the timp of 
the war removed with his family to (the 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



23 



vicinity of Imlaystown, wb©r« he built a 
wigwam by a oond not far from the vil- 
lage. 

Shortly after he located here his wife 
sickened and died. Peter dearly loved 
his squaw, and was almost heart-broken 
on account of the unlucky event. He 
could not bear the idea of parting with his 
wife, of putting her under ground out of 
sight. For a day or two lie was inconsola- 
ble and knew not what to do ; at length a 
lucky idea occurred to him ; instead of 
burying her where he never more could 
see her, he would put a rope about her 
neck and place her in the pond and daily 
visit her. This idea he at once put into 
execution, and as he daily visited her, it 
somewhat assuaged his poignant grief. — 
On one of his melancholy visits te the de- 
parted partner of his bosom, he noticed 
in the water around her a large number 
of eels. To turn these eels to account was 
a matterof importance to Peter, for though 
he loved his wife yet he loved money too. 
.So he caught the eels daily, and foraweek 
or so visited the village regularly and 
found a ready sale for them among the 
villagers. 

But at length the supply failed — his 
novel eel trap gave out. A few days there- 
after he was in the village and numerous 
were the inquiries why he did not bring 
any more of those good eels. 

" Ah," said Peter very innocently, draw- 
ing a long sigh, " me catch no more eels — 
me squaw all gone — boo — hoo ! " 

His grief and singular reply called for 
an explanation, and he, thinking nothing 
wrong, gave it. 

The result was a general casting up of ac- 
counts among the villagers, terrible anath- 
emas upon the Indian, and a holy horror 
of eels among that generation of Imlays- 
town citizens, and even to this day it is 
said some of their descendants would as 
soon eat a sni.,ke as an eel. 

(The above tradition we have no doubt 
is substantially correct ; we derived it 
froii; Hon. Charles Parker, for many years 
State Treasurer, father of Gov. Parker, 
who some sixty years ago, while at Toms 
River, met with some of the disgusted pur- 
chase! s of Indian Peter's eels.) 



A BRAVE ^OUTH. 



One fine morning in May, 1780, as the 
family of David Forman, Sheriff of Mon- 
mouth County, were at breakfast, a soldier 



almost out of breath suddenly burst into 
the room and stated, that as he and anoth- 
er soldier were conducting to the Court 
House two men taken up on suspicion at 
Colt's Neck, they had knocked down his 
comrade, seized his musket and escaped. 
The Sheriff, on hearing this relation, im- 
mediately mounted his horse and galloped 
to the Court House to alarm the guard. — 
His son Tunis Forman, a lad of about 17, 
and small of his age, seized a musket load- 
ed only with small shot to kill blackbirds 
in the cornfields, and putting on a cart- 
ridge box, dispatched his brother Samuel 
(the late Dr. Samuel Forman of Freehold,) 
upstairs for a bayonet, and then without 
waiting for it, nurried off alone in the pur- 
suit. 

After running in a westerly direction 
about a mile, he discovered the men sit- 
ting on a fence, who on perceiving him 
ran into a swamp. As the morning was 
warm, he hasiily pulled off his coat and 
shoes and dashed in after them, keeping 
close upon them lor over a mile, when 
they got out of the swamp and each climb- 
ed into separate trees. As he came up 
they discharged at him the musket taken 
from the guard. The ball whistled over 
his head. He felt for his bayonet, and at 
that moment perceived that in his haste 
it was left behind. He then pointed his 
gun at the man with the musket, but 
deemed it imprudent to fire, reflecting 
even if he killed him, his comrade could 
easily master such a stripling as himself. 
He compelled the man to throw down his 
musket bv threatening him with death if 
he did not instantly comply. Then load- 
ing the prize from his cartridge he forced 
his prisoners down from the trees and 
armed with his two loaded muskets, he 
drove them toward the Court House, care- 
ful however, to keep them far apart, to 
prevent conversation. Passing by a spring 
they requested permission to drink. 

" No '' replied the intrepid boy, under- 
standing their design. " You can do as 
well without it as myself; you shall have 
some by and by." 

Soon after, his father, at the head ©f a 
party of soldiers in ttie pursuit, galloped 
past in the road within a short distance. — 
Tunis hallooed, but the clattering of their 
horses hoots drowned his voice. At length 
he reached the village, and lodged his 
jjrisoners in the county prison. 

It was subsequently discovered that 
these men, whose name was John and 
Robert Smith, were brothers from near 



24 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Philadelphia, that they had robbed and 
murdered a Mr. Boyd, a collector of taxes 
in Chester county, and when taken, were 
on their wav to join the British. As ttiey 
had been apprehended on suspiri<)n mere- 
ly of buing refugees, no definite charge 
could be brought against them. A few- 
days after, Sheriff •'^ornian saw an adver- 
tisement in a Pennsylvania paper df^scrib 
ing them, with the facts above mentioned, 
and a reward of $20,000 Continental mon- 
ey offered for their appiehensi-^n. He, ac- 
companied by his son, took them there, 
where they were trie i and executed. On 
entering Philadelphia young Tunis was 
carried through the streets in triumph 
upon the shoulders of the military. In 
the latter part of the war this voung 
man became very active, and was a pecu- 
liar favorite of General David Forman. He 
died not far from 1835. (The foregoing 
account is as related by the late Dr. Sam 
uel Formaai to Henry Howe, Esq.) 



CAPTAIN JOSEPH COWARD. 



In a Philadelphia work containing 
Sketches of Revolutionary Heroos is found 
ihe following notice of one of the patriots 
of old Monmouth : 

" Joseph Coward was a native of Mon- 
mouth county, N. J. In view of his cogno- 
men we may well exclaim, " What's in a 
name, my Lord?"' He was a Coward; and 
yet one of the bravest of the Revolutionary 
Captains. He was a great terror to the 
Refugees alias Tories. At the Battl'fe of 
Monmouth and at several other places, his 
undaunted courage was conspicuous. — 
When the British fleet lay off vSandy Hook, 
one of the supply ships ran loo near the 
shore and stuck fast. Witli a few. Captain 
Coward captured her in defiance of two 
barges manned with superior numbers 
that were sent to the rescue. At the clese 
of the war he returned to his farm, became 
the esteemed citizen and fully exemplified 
the noble attributes of an honest man." 

From his name we should not be sur- 
prised if the above named liero was a rela- 
tive of the late Captain Joseph Coward of 
Toms River, formerly a member of the 
Legislature, a gentleman much esteemed 
and popular among his political opponents, 
as well as friends. 



A JERSEY BLUE AT THE BATTLE 
OF GERMANTOWN. 

Barkalow, of Old Moxmouth. 

The following story which we find in an 
old work is worth repeating: 

" A Brave Fellow. — Among numerous 
feats of valor performed by individuals of 
the American Revolutionary army, none 
has pleaded me more ihan the iollowing, 
related by an eye witness. 

" During the heat of the baltlir at Oer 
mantown, while bullets flew thick as hail- 
stones, one Barkalow, of Monmouth, N. J., 
was levelling his musket at the enemy 
when the lock was carried away bv a bull. 
Undismayed, he caught up the gun of a 
comrade, just killed by his side, and taking 
aim, a bullet entered ihe muzzle and twist- 
ed the barrel round like acorkscrewl Still 
undaunted, our hero immediately ivneel- d 
down, unscrewed the whole lock from the 
twisted barrel, screwed it on the barrel 
from which the lock had been torn, and 
blazed away at the enemy. 

" Can ancient Sparta or modern Bririan 
boast a more brilliant display o* cool, de- 
liberate, unshtvken courage? Tliis hero is 
still livinj,.'' — Niles Prin. Revolution, 1822 



THE REDSTt'NE COUNTRY. 

Old Monmouth Citizens Emigratixo WtsT. 

At dift'erent times between fifty and a 
hundred years a^jo, a large number of the 
citizens of old Monmouth emigr iied to 
what then was termed "'the Redstone 
country." These emigrants left behind 
numerous relatives, and among their de- 
scendants are often heard inquiries as to 
the precise locality of this '' Redstone 
country." The origin of the name at the 
present day seems somewhat singular. 

The term " Redstone settlements " or 
" Redstone country," was employed to de- 
note most fthe country in Pennsylvania 
and Virginia west of the mountains. The 
name Redstone was ap})lied to a creek 
which enters the Monongahela below 
Brownsville, Pa., upon which was a settle- 
ment calleii " Redstone Old Fort." 

In thatMay coal, as an article of fuel, 
was unknown. It is .stated that "the hills 
aboun<led with bituminous coal ; and along 
water courses where the earth had been 
washed off, the coal was left exposed 
which often caught fire ; these fires came 
in contact with the suri'ounding earth and 



OLD TIMES IX OLD MONMOUTH. 



2r. 



stones and gave them a red appearance — 
indeed so much so that when pulverized 
they were used in painting a vSpanish 
brown color. Hence the name. Many of 
these red banks are now visible, the most 
prominent of whieh are in Redstone Creek, 
Fayette county, Pa." 

The last considerable exodus of citizens 
of old Monmouth bound for the Redstone 
(Country, occurred some fifty odd years ago. 
Some of the emigrants from the county 
who went previous to this time, experienc- 
ed great hardships, a;nd at one time were 
so seriously annoyed by the Indians that 
they had to return until the troubles were 
over. One native of old Monmouth named 
Conovea' during the Indian troubles, be- 
came quite noted for his skill and bravery 
in meeting the savages, and his adventures 
wei-e so thrilling that we shall try to find 
place for them liereafter ; it will be seen 
that he did no discredit to the county that 
gave him birth. 

INDIAN WILL. 



An EccK.NTRic .\boriginai. ok Old Mov- 

MOLTH. 

In days gone by the singular character 
and eccentric acts of the noted Indian 
Will, formed the theme of many a fireside 
story among our ancestors, many of which 
are still well remembered by our older 
citizens, especially those belonging to the 
Society of Friends. Some of the incidents 
given below, derived many years ago from 
aged Friends, differ in some particulars, 
but we give them as related to us now, in 
hopes some of our readers can furnisn cor- 
rections and additions. The first story 
given below, was published some thirty 
years ago, and as will be seen differs from 
other versions. 

"About the year 1670, the Indians sold 
out the section of country near Eatontown 
to Lewis Morris for a barrel of cider, and 
emigrated to Crosswicks and Cranbury. — 
One of them, called Indian AVill, remained 
and dwelt in a wigwam between Tin ton 
Falls and Swimming river. His tribe were 
in consequence exasperated, and at vari- 
ous times sent messengers to kill liim in 
single combat ; but being a brave, athletic 
man, he always came ofi conoueror. On a 
certain occasion, while partaking of a 
breakfast of suppawn and milk at Mr. Ea- 
ton's with a silver spoon, he casually re- 



marked that he knew where there were 
plenty of such. They promised if he 
would bring them they would give him a 
red coat and a cocked hat. In a short 
time he was arrayed in that dress ; and it 
is said that the Batons suddenly became 
wealthy. About 80 years since, in pulling 
down an old mansion in Shrewsbury, in 
which a maiden member of this family in 
her lifetime had resided, a quantity o\ cob 
dollars, supposed by the superstitious to 
have been Kidd's money, were found con- 
cealed in the cellar wall. This coin was 
generally of a square or oblong shape, the 
corners of wliich wore out the pockets.'" — 
{Howe's Hist. Coll.) 

A somewhat similar or a variation of the 
above tradition, we have fi-equently heard 
as follows : 

'• India Will often visited th« family 
of Derrick Longstreet at Manasquan, and 
one time showed them some silver money 
which excited their surprise ; they wished 
to know where he got it, and wanted Will 
to let them have it. Will refused to part 
with it. but told them he had found it in 
a trunk along tlie beacli, and there wa.s 
plenty of yellow money beside ; but as the 
yellow money was not as pretty as tlie 
white, he didn't want that, and Longstreet 
might have it. So Longstreet went with 
him, and found the money in a trunk cov- 
ere 1 over with tarpaulin buried in the 
j sand ; Will kept the white money and 
; Longstreet the yellow ( gold,) and this sat- 
j isfactory division, made the Longstreets 
quite wealthy." 

It is very probable that Will found mon- 
j ey along the beach, but whether it was 
from some shipwrecked vessel, or had been 
buried by pirates, is another question. — 
However, the connection of Kidd's name 
with the finding ol the money would indi- 
cate that Will lived long after the year 
mentioned in the first quoted tradition, 
( 1670.) Kidd did not sail on his piratical 
cruise until 1696. And from the tradition- 
ary information the writer of this has been 
able to obtain, Will must have lived many 
years subsequent. 

In personal appearance, Willis described 
as having been stout, broad shouldered, 
with prominent Indian cast of fentures 
and rings in his ear-, and a good sized one 
in his nose. The following are some of 
the additional traditions related of him: 

Among other things which Will had 
done to excite the ill will of other Indians 
iie was charged with killing his wife. Her 
brother named Jacob, determined on re- 



26 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



venge; so he pursued him and finding Will 
unarmed, undertook to march him off cap- 
tive. As they were going along, Will 
espied a pine knot on the ground, and 
managed to pick it up and suddenly dealt 
Jacob a fatal blow, and as he dropped to 
the ground, Will tauntingly exclaimed, 
•'Jacob, look up at the sun — you'll never 
see it again." Most of the old residents 
who relate stories of Will, speak of his 
finding honey at one time on the dead 
bodv of an Indian he had previously killed, 
but whether it was Jacob or some other is 
not mentioned. 

At one time, to make sure work of kill- 
ing Will, four or five Indians started in 
pursuit of him, and they succeeded in sur- 
prising him so suddenly that he had no 
chance for defence or fight, ffis captors 
told him they were about to kill him and 
he must at once prepare to die. He heard 
his doom with Indian stoicism, and he had 
only one favor to ask before he died, and 
that was to be allowed to take a drink out 
of his jug ot liquor which had just been 
filled. So small a favor the captors could 
not refuse. As Will's jug was full, it was 
only common poUtene.--.s to ask them to 
drink also. Now if his captors had a.nj'^ 
weakness it was for rum; so they grateful- 
ly accepted his invitation. The drink 
rendered them talkative, and they com- 
menced reasoning with him upon the 
enormitv of his offences. Tiie condemned 
man admitted the justness of their re- 
proaches, and begged to be allowed to take 
another drink to drown the stings of con- 
science ; the captors condescendingly join- 
ed him again — indeed it would have been 
cruel to refuse to drink with a man so soon 
to die. This gone through with, they per- 
suaded Will to make a full confession of 
his misdeeds, and their magnitude so 
aroused the indignation of his ca})tors, 
that they had to take another drink to 
enable them to do their duty becociingly. 
Indeed, they took divers drinks, so over- 
come were they by his harrowing tale; and 
then they become so unmanned, that they 
had to try to recuperate by sleep. Then 
crafty Will, who had really dr.ink but lit- 
tle, softly arose, found his hatchet, and 
soon despatched his would-be captors. 

It was a rule with Will not to waste any 
ammunition, and therefore he was bound 
to eat all the game he killed, but a buz- 
zard which he once shot sorely trie<l him, 
and it took two or three days starving, be- 
fore he could stomach it. One time when< 
alone upon the beach he was seized with a 



fit of sickness and thought he was about 
to die ; and not wishing his dead body to 
lie exposed, he succeeded in digging a 
shallow grave in which he lay for awhile, 
but his sickness passed off and he crept 
out and went on his way rejoicing. He 
would never, in the latter years of his life, 
kill a willet, as he said a willet once saved 
his life. He said he was in a canoe one 
dark night crossing tlie bay, somewhat the 
worse for liquoi', and unconsciously about 
to drift out the inlet into the ocean, when 
a willet screamed, and the ])eculiar cry of 
tiiis bird seemed to him to sound, " this 
way. Will; this way. Will!'' and that w&y 
Will went and reached the beach just in 
time to save himself from certain death in 
the breakers. 

When after wild fowl he had a singular 
vvav of talking to them in a low tone : — 
" Come this way, my nice bird, Will won't 
hurt you; Will won't hurt you!" If he 
succeeded in killing one he would say : 
'* You fool, you believe me eh ? Ah, Will 
been so much with the whites he learned 
to lie like a white man .'" 

An old resident of the present county 
of Ocean, says that " Indian Will some- 
times travelled down along shore as far as 
Barnegat Inlet and always attended by a 
lot of big, lean, hungrj' looking dogs, to 
help him fight off other Indians." 

Near the mouth of Squan River is a 
place known as " Will's Hole.'" There are 
two versions <itf the origin of the name. — 
One old gentleman living in the vicinity, 
s-ays it was so called because Will was 
drowned in it. The other version is that 
Will drowned his wife here. 

The following traditions of Indian Will 
were told last summer by the venerable 
Thomas Cook of Point Pleasant, recently 
deceased, to a correspondent of the i\ew 
York World. Though copied in this paper 
at that time, yet in this connection they 
will bear republishing : 

Along the <hore of Squan river a small 
inlet was pointed out to me which is known 
a,s " Imiian Will's Hole.' Some three 
quarters of .i century ago, an old Indian 
chief made his home in the woods attached 
to the Cook farm. He was a brawny, 
muscular savage, peaceably inclined to- 
wards the whites and suffered no molesta- 
tion from them. Many of his people lived 
around him, but he preferred to occupy 
his cabin alone with his wife, while he 
spent most of his time in hunting and 
fishing. 

But one day Indian Will brought home 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



27 



a muskiat, which he ordered his spouse to 
prepare for dinner. She obeyed, but when 
it was placed upon the table, refused to 
partake of it. " Very well," grunted the 
noble red man, '• if you are too good to eat 
m.iskrat you are too good to live with me." 
And thereupon took her down to the little 
bay spoken of, and caused her to sink so 
ett'ectually that she has not yet come to 
the surface. 

Indian Will liad three brothers-in-hiw, 
two of Tfhom resided on Long Island, and 
when in course of time word reached ihem 
of the manner in which the chief had "put 
away " their sister, they went dawn to 
Jersey to avenge her deatli. When they 
reached Will's c?bin^ he sat inside eating 
clam soup. Knowing their errand, he in- 
vited them in to dinner, telling them that 
lie vtould figlit it out with them as soon as 
the meal was concluded. "'Barkis was 
Vs'illin " and they gathered around the ab- 
original board, complimentiniz the steam- 
ing scHip wliich was placed before them, 
ami scooped it into their capacious jaws in 
the very felicity of sensuous enjoyment. 

Before dinner was over Indian Will pre- 
tended that he heard some one approach- 
ing, and springng up hurried out of his 
cabin as if to meet him. But the instant 
lie was out of sight of the two visitors, he 
caught up their two guns, which they had 
left leaning up against the cabin in full 
trust of his honor, and through the open 
ilooi' shot both, the last redskin falling 
dead as he was rushing out to close in with 
his treacherous iiost. 

In those days it was the custom of the 
Indians to hold a yearly meeting or coun- 
I'il at a place now known as Burrsville, 
somewhat like a <lozen miles from this 
point. It was here that Indian Will en 
countered the third brother-in-law, and 
they started homeward together having 
no weapons with them, but carrying a jug 
of whiskey. Deep in the gloomy recesses 
of the pine woods, when his blood was in- 
flamed with fire-water, this Indian told 
th'' chief that he must: die as the death of 
his relatives must be avenyed. 

They halted and closed in the deadly 
->truggle. Both were active and powerful 
men and it was a fight unto death ; but 
late in the evening Indian Will appeared 
at liis cabin with no companion but his 
whiskey jug. The next day he received 
several visitors from his race who had been 
at the Council the day before, aud who 
had seen the two depart together. In 
([uiring as to what had become of his com- 



rade, he told them to search and they 
would probably find out. 

They took the back trail of the chief 
and after an hour's tramping found the 
dead body. The crushed skull and a 
bloody pine knot near told the tale. Hence- 
forth Indian Will was let alone and quiet- 
ly died in his own cabin many years after. 
I find that in the deed of the Cook farm, 
this '' Indian Will's Hole" is recognized, 
and its margin is given as one of the land- 
marks." 



CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION- 
PRINCIPLES INVOLVED. 



Early Stand taken by the Citizens of Mon- 
mouth. — Prooceedings of Meetings in 
Different TowMships in 1774-5. — Free- 
hold leads the State. — County Resolu- 
tions. — An Admirable Document. — Pa- 
triots Appeal to their Descendants. — " A 
Faithful Record'' of 1774, audits Message 
to 1873. 

Historians of other States have always 
conceded that the citizens of New Jersey 
were among the earliest and most active 
opponents of those tyrannical acts of Great 
Britain which brought on the war, and fi- 
nally resulted in separation. Large and 
spirited public meetings were held in va- 
rious parts of the State in 1774-5, to de- 
nounce the obnoxious laws, and to organ- 
ize for counsel and defence. 

At this stage of affairs, sepiaration from 
England had not been proposed, and most 
of these meetings, while condemning the 
acts of the British Ministry and Parlia- 
ment, still expressed decided loyalty to 
the King. Our ancestors warmly seconded 
the stand taken by the people of Boston 
and freely forwarded contributions to the 
suffering inhabitants of that city. 

We annex extracts from the proceed- 
ings of some of these meetings in Old 
Monmouth, as they exhibit the timely 
zeal and firm and decided spirit of its citi- 
zens, and also furnish the names of some 
of the leading spirits who were prominent 
in the early stages of political m ^vements 
which brought on the Revolution. The 
several counties of the State were request- 
ed to send delegates to meet at New Bruns. 
wick, July 21st, 1774, to consider what 



28 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



action should be taken by the citizens oi 
the Province ol New Jersey. This conven- 
tion was geHeraliy spoken of as the " Pro- 
vincial Congress of New Jersey, " and was 
a different' body from the Legislature: in 
several instances, however, the same per- 
sons were members of both bodies. A 
number of persons named in these pro- 
ceedings were afterwards, during the war, 
conspicuous in military or civil life, for 
their services in behalf of their country in 
legislative halls and on the field of battle. 

For a year or two tbe citizens of the 
county appear to have been about unani- 
mous in their sentiments, but when finally 
the subject of a separation from the moth- 
er country was boldly advocated, there 
was found to be a diversity of opinion, and 
some who were among the most active in 
the meetings'of 1774-5, earnestly opposed 
the ijroposition, and eventually sided with 
England in the later years of that memor- 
able struggle. The fearful consequences 
of this division, in which it would seem 
almost every man capable of bearing arms 
was comoelled to take sides, we have en- 
deavored to give in other chnpters. 

The citizens of Freehold had the honor, 
we believe, of holding tlie first meeting in 
New Jersey to denounce the tyrannical 
acts of Great Britain — of inaugurating the 
movements in our State which finally re- 
sulted in Independence. The date of 
their first meeting is June 6th, 1774; thft 
earliest date of a meeting in any other 
place tliat we have met with, is of a meet- 
ing at Newark, June 11th, 1774. 

The following is a copy of the Freehold 
Proceedings : 

howRR Freehold Resomitxoxs. 

" Freehold June 6th 1774. 

" Atameeting of the Freeholders and In- 
habitants of the Township of Ldwer Free- 
hold in the county of Monmouth in New 
Jersey, on Monday the 6th day of June 
1774 after notice given of the time place 
and occasion of this meeting 

'• Resolved That it is the unanimous o\nn- 
ion of this meeting, that the cause in wliich 
the inhabitants of the town of Boston are 
now suflPering is the common cause of the 
whole Continent of North America; and 
that unless some general sj)irited measures, 
lor the public safety be speedily entered 
into there is just reason to fear that every 
Province may in turn sliare the same fate 
with them; and that therefore, it is higldy 
incumbent on thom all to unite in some 



effectual means to obtain a repeal of the 
Boston Port Bill and any other that may 
follow it, which shall be deemed subver- 
sive of the rights and piivileges of free 
burn Americans. 

"And that it is the opiiijoti of this meet- 
ing that in case it shall Ijtreafter a()pear 
to be consistent with the general opinion 
of the trading towns and the commercial 
part ot our countrymen, that an entire 
stoppage of importation and exportatioii 
from and to Great Brit.'iin and the West 
Indies, until the said Port Bill and other 
Acts be repealed, will be conduijive to tbe 
safety and preservation of North America 
and her liberties, they will yield a cheerful 
acquiesence in the ipeasure and 'Earnestly 
reccommend the same to all their iM'cth- 
ren in this Province. 

•'Resolved, ?noreo?er That the inhabitants 
of this township will jom in an Association 
with the several towns in the county and 
in conjuction with them, with the several 
counties in the Province (if, as w^e 
doubt not they see fit to accede to the 
proposal ) in any measures that may ap- 
pear best adapted to tiie wea! and safety 
of North America and all her loyal sons. 

'• Ordered That 
John Anderson Esq Peter Fokman 
Hendrick Smock John Forman 
AsHER Holmes Capt Jno Covenhoven 

and Dr. Nathaniel Scxjdder 
be a committee for the township to join 
those who may be elected for the neigh- 
boring townships or counties to co.^stitute 
a General Committee for any purposes 
similar to those above mentioned; and 
that the gentlemen so appointed do im- 
mediately solicit a correspondence with 
tlie adjacent towns." 

( Dr. Scudder subsequently was a Colo- 
nel in tlie First Regiment Monmouth 
Militia, and killed October 15th, 1781. a> 
described elsewhere.) 

The following week the citizens of Essex 
sent the following to the patriots of Mon- 
mouth : 

Essex to Mon.moi th. 
" Elizabethtown -lune 13th 1774. 

"Gentlemen: The alarming Measures 
which have been lately taken to deprive 
the Inhabitants of the American Cehnies 
of their constitutional Rights and Privi- 
leges, together with the late violent -itlacks 
made u])on the rights and liberties of the 
Colony of the Massachusetts Bay ( for as- 
serting and endeavoring to maintain their 
rights) manifestly intended lo crush them 
without Mercv and thereby disunite and 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



29 



wc-aken the Colonies, and at tlie same time 
dare the.n to assert or own their Constitu- 
tional Rights, Liberties or Properties, un- 
der the Penalty of the like, and if jwssible, 
worse treatment ; and ai the Assembly of 
New Jersey are not like to meet in time 
to answer the Design j^roposed, and the 
neighboring Colonies are devising and ex- 
pecting the immediate union of this Colo- 
ny with them. 

''Bunclry of the hjhabitantsof theCounty 
of E^sex by Advertisements, convened a 
general Meeting of said County at Newark 
on Saturday last, when the said inhabi- 
tants unanimously entered into certain 
Kesolves and Declarations upon that occa- 
sion, a copy of which you have enclosed. 
We the Committee appointed by the said 
Meeting, do earnestly request that i^ou 
will immediately by Advertisements or 
otherwise, call a general Meeting of your 
County for the purposes aforesaid as soon 
as possible, as we have intelligence that it 
is most probable the General Congress of 
the Colonies will be held the latter end of 
July next. We think New Brunswick the 
most suitable i)lace for the committee to 
meet, and with submission to them desire 
they will meet lis at New Brunswick on 
Thursday July 21st next at 10 o'clock in 
the morning, unless some other time and 
place more suitable shall in the meantime 
be agreed upon. 

" VVe earnestly lequest your answer as 
soon as possible. 

'• Letters of this Tenor and Date we now 
despatch to the other Counties in this Col- 
ony. We are. Gentlemen, 

" your most ob't servants 
"Stephen Craxe Chairman 

'' Hy order : 

" To Messrs Edward Taylor, Richard Law- 
rence Elisha Lawrence, John Taylor and 
Henry Waddeli, and other Inliabilants ot 
the County of Monmouth, Friends to the 
liiiierties and Privileges of the American 
Colonies." 

( The above letter was directed to the 
above named gentlemen " or to any body 
else in Monmouth County.'") 

Delegates IVdm the different townships 
in the connty assembled at Fi'eohoiil, July 
i9lh, and the result of their decision is 
found in the following admirable docu- 
ment. It is lengthy but will well repay 
perusa'. In the closing paragraph they 
trust that some fiithful record will trans- 
mit the reasons which actuated them, to 
til' ir posterity to whom they make a brief 
but f>loquetit appeal. As they desired, this 



record has been jjreserved, and as they 
desired, we do what we can to place it be- 
fore their descendants: 

MoxMOUTH County Resolutioxs. 

" On Tuesday July 19th 1774, a majority 
of the Committees from the several town- 
ships in the covinty of Monmouth of the 
Colony of New Jersey met according to 
appointment at the Court House at Free- 
hold in said county ; and api)earing to 
have been regularly chosen and constituted 
by their respective townships, they unani- 
mously agreed upon the propriety and ex- 
pediency of electing a committee to repre- 
sent the whole county at the approaching 
Provincial Convention to be held at the 
city of New Brunswick, for the necessary 
purpose of constituting delegates from Ibis 
Province to the general Congress of the 
Colonies and for all other such important 
purposes as siiall hereafter be found neces- 
sary. 

" They at the same time also recorded the 
following Resolutions, Determinations and 
Opinions, which they wish to be transmit- 
ted to posterity as an ample testimony to 
their lovalty to his British Majesty, of their 
firm attacement to the principles of the 
glorious Revolution and their fixed and 
unalterable purpose, by every lawful 
means in their power, to maintain and de- 
fend themselves in the possession and en- 
joyment of those inestima,ble civil and re- 
ligious privileges which their forefathers, 
at the expense of so much blood and treas- 
ure, liave established and handed down 
to them. 

" 1st. In the names and behalf of their 
constituents, the good and loyal inhabi- 
tants of the county of Monmouth, in the 
colony of New Jersey^ they do cheerfully 
and publicly proclaim their unshaken al- 
legiance to the person and government ot 
his most gracious Majesty King George the 
Third now on the British throne, and do 
acknowledge^ themselves bound at all 
times, and to the utmost exertion of their 
power to maintain his dijznity and lawful 
sovereignty in and over all his colonies in 
America; and that it is their most fervent 
desire and constant prayer that in a Prot- 
estant succession, the descendants of the 
illustrious House of Hanover, may con- 
tinue to sway the British sceptre to the 
latest posterity. 

" 2d. They do highly esteem and prize 
the happiness of being governed and hav- 
ing their liberty and property secured to 
them by so excellent a system of laws as 



30 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



that of Great Britain, the best doubtless in 
the universe ; and they will at all times 
cheerfully obey and render every degree of 
assistance in their power to the full and 
just execution of them. But at t}«e fame 
time will, with the greatest alacrity and 
resolution oppose- any unwarrantable in- 
novations in them or any additions to or 
alterations in the grand system which may 
appear unconstitutional, and consequently 
inconsistent with the liberties and privi- 
leges of the descendants ot free borit 
American Britons. 

" 3d. As there has been for ages past, a 
most happy union and uninterrupted con- 
nection between Great Britain and her 
colonies in America, they conceive their 
interests are now become so intimately 
blended together and their mutual de 
pendence upon each other to be at this 
time so delicately great that they esteem 
everything which has a tendency to alien- 
ate affection or disunite them in any de- 
gree, highly injurious to their common 
happiness and directly calculated to pro- 
duce a Eevolution, likelv in the end to 
prove destructive to both ; they do there- 
fore heartily disclaim every idea of that 
spirit of independence which has, of late, 
by some of our mistaken brethren on each 
side of the Atlantic, been so groundlefsiy 
and injuriously held up to thr.- attention of 
the nation, as having through ambition, 
])Ossessed tlie breasts of tlie Americans. — 
And moreover they do devoutly bt-seech 
the Supreme Disposer of all events, gra- 
ciously to incline the heart of our Soverign 
and all his Ministers, to a kind and im- 
partial investigation ot the real sentiments 
and disjjosition of his truly loyal American 
subjects. 

"4th. Notwithstanding many great men 
xind able writers have employed their tal- 
ents and pens in favor of the newly adopt- 
ed mode of taxation in America, tliey are 
J'et sensible of no convictive light being 
thrown upon the subject; and therefore, 
although so august a body as that of the 
British Parliament is now actually endeav- 
oring to enforce in a military way. tlie ex- 
ecution of some distressing edicts upon the 
capital of the Mas-^acliusetts colony, they 
do freely and solemnly declare "that in 
conscience they deem them, and all oth- 
ers that are, or ever may be framed upon 
tiie same principles, altogetlier unprece- 
dented and unconstitutional, utterly in- 
consistent wilh the true original intention 
of Magna Charta, subversive of the just 
rights of free born Englishmen, agreeable 



and satisfactory only to the domestic and 
foreign enemies of our nation, and conse- 
quently pregnant with complicated ruin, 
and tentling directly to the dissolution and 
destruction of the Britisli Empire. 

" 5tii. As they, on tlie one hand firmly 
believe that the inhabitants of the Massa- 
chusetts colony in general, and those of 
the town of Boston in particular, are to all 
intents and purposes as loyal subjects as 
any in all his Majesty's widely extended 
dominions ; and on the other, that (al- 
though the present coercive and oppres.sive 
measures against them may have taken 
rise in some part from the grossest and 
most cruel misrepresentat.on both of their 
disposition and conduct ) the blockade of 
that town is principally designed to lead 
the way in an attempt to execute a dread- 
ful deep laid plan for enslaving all Anipr- 
icd. 'J'heyare therefore clearly of 0[)inion, 
that the Bostonians are now eminently 
sufi'ering in the common cause >.f Aim-ii- 
can fretsdotn, and that their fate n:ay 
probably pVove decisive to this very ex- 
tensive continent and even to the whole 
British nation ; and they do verily expect 
that unle>s some generous ."^pii'lted meas- 
ures for the public safety be speedily en- 
tered into and steadily prosecuted, every 
other colony will soon in turn feel the per- 
nicious etiects of the same detestable re- 
strictions. Whence tiiey earnestly entreat 
every rank, denomination, society and 
profession of their brethren, that,' laying 
aside all bigotry and every party disposi 
tion. tliey do now universally concur in 
one- generous and vigorous etibrt for the 
encouragement and support of their suf- 
f'^ring friends, and in a resolute assertion 
of their birth right, liberties and }>rivileges. 
In consequence of vvliich t!?ey may reason- 
ably expect a speedy repeal of ail the ar- 
bitrary edicts re.>;pecting the MassHchusetts 
government, and at the same time an ef- 
fectual preclusion of any future attempts 
of the kind from the enemies of our ha))- 
l^y Constitution, either upon them or any 
o< their American brethren. 

"6th In case it shall hereafter appeiu- to 
be consistent with t!ie result of the delib- 
eration of the general Congress, that an 
interruption or entire cassation of com- 
mercial intercourse with Great Britain and 
even ( jninful as it may be ) with the West 
Indies, until such oppressive Acts \ e re- 
]ii'aled and the liberties of America fully 
restored, stated and assorted, wiH on this 
deplorable emergency be really necessary 
;intl conducive to the public good, they 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



31 



promise a ready acquiesence in every mea- 
sure ^nfi will recommend the same as far 
as their ii;fluence extends. 

" 7th. As a general Congress of Deputies 
from the several American Colonies is pro- 
posed to be held at Philadelphia soon in 
iSeptember next, they ileclare their entire 
approbation of the design and think it is 
the only rational method of evading those 
aggravated evils which threaten to involve 
the whole continent in one general calam- 
itous catastrophe. They are therelore met 
this day, vested with due authority from 
their respective constituents, to elect a 
committee to represent this county of 
Monmouth in any future necessary trans 
actions respecting the cause of liberty and 
especially to join the Provincial Conven- 
tion soon to be held at New Brunswick, 
for the purpose of nominating and consti- 
tuting a number of Delegates, who in be- 
half of this Colony ma, steadily attend to 
said general Congress and faithfullv serve 
the laboring cause of freedom and they 
have consequently chosen and deputed the 
following gentlemen to that important 
trust viz ; y 

Edward^'aylor John Anderson 

John Tiiylor Dr Nathaniel Scudder 

John Burrowes John Covenhoven u- 

Joseph Holmes Josiah Holmes 

Edward Williams James Crover 
John Lawrence. 

' Edward Taylor being constituted chair- 
man and any five of them a sufficient 
number to transact business. And they 
do beseech, entreat, insti'uct and enjoin 
them to give their voice at said Provincial 
Convention, for no persons but such as 
they in good conscience and from the best 
information shall verily believe to be am- 
ply quaiified fnr so int'^resting a depart- 
ment; particularly that they be men high- 
ly aj^proved for integrity, honesty and up 
rightness, faithfully Httached to his Maj- 
esty's person and lawful government, well 
skilled in tiie principles of our excellent 
constitution and steady assertors of all our 
civil and religious liberties. 

" 8th. As under the present operation of 
the Boston Port Bill, thousantls of our re- 
spected brethren in Ijuit town must neces 
sarily be reduced to great distress, they 
feel themselves affected with the sincorest 
sympathy and most cordial-commiseration; 
and as they expect, under God, that the 
final deliverance of America will be owing, 
in a great degree, to a continuance of their 
virtuous struggle, they esteem themselves 
bound in duty and in interest to afforl 



them every assistance and alleviation in 
their power ; and they do now in behalf 
of their constituents, declare their readi- 
ness to contribute to the relief of the suf- 
fering poor in that town ; therefore they 
request the several committees of the 
country, when met, to take into serious 
consideration the necessity and expedien- 
cy of' forwarding under a sanction from 
them, subscriptions through every part of 
the Colony, for that truly humane and 
laudable purpose ; and that a proper plan 
be concerted for laying out the product of 
such subscriptions to the best andvantage, 
and afterwards transmitting it to Boston 
in the safest and least expensive way. 

"9th. As we are now by our Committees 
in this, in conjunction with those of other 
colonies, about to delegate to a number of 
our countrymen a power equal to any 
wherewith liuman nature alone was ever 
invested ; and as we firmly resolve to ac- 
quiesce in their deliberations, we do there- 
fore earnestly entreat them, seriously and 
conscientiously to weigh the inexpressible 
importance of their arduous department, 
and fervently to solicit that direction and 
assistance m the discnarge of their trust, 
which all the powers of humanity cannot 
afford thesn ; and we do humbly and ear- 
nestly beseech that God, in whose hand 
are the hearts of all flesh and who ruleth 
them at his pleasure, graciously to infuse 
into the whole Congress a spirit of true 
wisdom, prudence and just moderation ; 
and to direct them to such unanimous and 
happy conclusion as shall terminate in His 
own honor and glory, the establishment 
of the Protestant succession of the illus- 
trious House of Hanover, the mutual weal 
and advantage of Great Britain and all her 
l^ominions and a just and permanent con- 
firmation of i.ll the civil and religious lib- 
erties of Araerica. And now lastly, under 
tlie consideration of the bare possibility 
that the enemies of our constitution may 
y«>t succeed in ■x desperate triumph over 
us in this age, we do earnestly ( should 
this prove the case ) call upon all future 
generations to renew the glorious struggle 
for liberty as often as Heaven shall afford 
them any probable means of success. 

•' May this notification, by some faithful 
record, be handed down to the yet unborn 
descendants of Americans, that nothing 
but the most fatal necessity could have 
wrested the present inestimable enjoy- 
ments from their ancestors. Let them 
universally inculcate upon their beloved 
offspring an investigation of those truths, 



32 



OLD TIMES IX OLD MONMOUTH. 



respecting both civil and religious liberty, 
which have been so clearly and fully stated 
in this generation. May they be carefulh' 
taught in all their schools-, and may they 
never rest until, through Divine blessing 
upon their efforts, true freedom and liber- 
ty shall reign triumphant over the whole 
Crlebe. 

" Signed by order of the Committes, 

'' Edward Taylor Chairman " 
Boston Gratefully Acknowledges Mon- 
mouth Contributions. 

The patriots of Monmouth promptly 
and freely contributed to the suffering in- 
habitants of Boston. In forwarding their 
first contribution "they entreated their 
brethren not to give up, and if they 
should want a iurther supjjly of bread to 
let them know it." 

On the 21st of October, 1774, a letter was 
written on behalf of the Boston ians, to 
the citizens of Monmouth, in whicli they 
say: ^ 

" The kind and generous donations of 
the County of Monmouth in the -Tersies 
we are now to acknowledge and with 
grateful hearfcB to thank you therefore, 
having received from the Committee of 
said county, per Captain Brown, eleven 
hundred and forty (1140) bushels of rye 
and fifty barrels of rye meal, for thesuffer- 
ing poor of this town which shall be au- 
plied to the purpose intended by the don- 
ors ; and what further cheers our hearts, 
is your kind assurances of a further sup- 
ply, if necessary, to enable us to oppose 
the cruel Parliamentary Acts, levelled not 
only against this town, but our whole 
Constitution." 

" Committees of Observation and Inspec- 
tion." 

'• Freehold December 10th 1774. 

" In pursuance of the recommendation of 
the Continental Congress and for the pres- 
ervation of American Freedom, a respect 
able body of the freeholders of Freehold 
townshij) met at the Court House and 
unanimously elected the following gentle- 
men to act as a Committee of Observation 
and Inspection for said township : 
.Tolin Anderson Hendrick Smock 

John Forman John Covenhoven 

Asher Holmes Dr. Nath'l Scudder 

Teter Forman David Forman 

Dr. T. Henderson. 

" The committee were instructed by their 
constituents to carry into e.xecution the 
'several imjiortant and sahitniT measures 



pointed out to them by the Continental 
Congress and without favor or affection to 
make all such diligent inquiry as shall be 
found conducive to thd accomplishment 
of the great necessary purposes held up to 
the attention of Americans." 

Upper Freehold, Dover and Middle- 
town formed similar committees, and noti- 
fied the Freehold committee. 

Shi'ewsbury however failed to appohit a 
committee. This may havf been owing 
to the prevalence of Quaker principles in 
the township. An attempt by the patri- 
ots of Shrewsbury was made to have a 
Committee appointed, as will be seen by 
the following cojiy of an advertisement 
put up in this township : 

•' Advertisement. 

"Shrewsbury January 2nd' 1775. 

" Aiireeable to the Resolutions of the 
late General Continental Congress — The 
Inhabitants of the town of Slirewsbury, 
more especially such as are properly qual- 
ififcd for choosing Representatives to serve 
in the Genend Assembly are hereby warn- 
ed to meet at the house of Josiah Hal- 
stead, in said Sh^-ewsbury, on '^esday the 
17th of this instant January at noon, in 
order to choose a Committee for the seve- 
ral purposes as directed by thesai'l Con- 
gress. 

" As the method ordered by the Congress 
seems to be the only peaceable method 
the case will admit of, on failure of which 
either confii'med Slavery or a civil war of 
course succeeds ; the bare mention of 
either of the two last is shocking to hu- 
man nature, more particularly so to all 
true friends of the English Constitution. 

"Therefore it becomes the indispensable 
duty of all such to use their utmost en- 
deavors in favor of the first or peaceable 
method, and suffer it not to miscarry or 
fail of its salutary and much desired effects 
by means of any sinister views or indo- 
lence of theirs. Surely expectinir on the 
one hand to be loaded with the curses 
arising from sla'very to the latest posteri- 
ty, or on the other band the guilt of 
blood of thousand of their brethren and 
fellow Christians to lay at their door and 
to be jusily required at their hands. 

"Think well of this before it be too late 
and let not the |irecious moments pass." 

A .number of the citizens of Shrewsbury 
Hssemhled at the time and place mention- 
ed in the advertisement but they failed to 
appoint a committee." The following 
-^iiows tho conclusion to which tb(^ meet- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



33 



ing came. It concludes more like a Qua- 
ker Meeting epistle than a town meeting 
resolve : 

" Extract from a letter to a gentleman in 
New York dated Shrewsbury N. J. Jan- 
uary 18th 1775. 

" In consequence of an anonymous ad- 
vertisement fixed up in this place, giving 
notice to freeholders and others, to meet 
on Tuesday the 17th inst in order to 
choose a Committee of Inspection etc, be- 
tween thirty and forty of ^he most respect 
able freeholders accordingly met and after 
a few debates on the business of the day, 
which were carried on vrith great decency 
and moderation it was generally agreed 
(there being only four or five dissenting 
votes) that the appointment of a commit- 
tee was not only useless, but they were 
apprehensive would prove a means of dis- 
turbing the peace and quietness which 
had hitherto existed in the township, and 
would continue to use their utmost en- 
deavors to preserve and to gaurd against 
running upon that rock on which, with 
much concern, they beheld others, through 
an inattentive rashness, daily splitting " 

The Freehold Committee of Observation 
and Inspection at a meeting held March 
17th, 1775, took up the case of Shrewsbury 
township, and after stating the subject in 
a preamble they resolved that from and 
after that day they would esteem and 
treat the citizens of Shrewsbury as ene- 
mies to their King and country and de- 
serters of the common cause of Freedom ; 
and would break off all dealings and con- 
nections with taem " unless they shall 
ttirn from the evil of their ways and testi- 
fy their repentance by adopting the mea- 
sures of Congress." 

The New Jersey Provincial Legislature, 
in May following, authorized other town- 
shijis to appoint delegates for Shrewsbury, 
but the same month the refractory town- 
ship, as will be seen by the following, 
chose delegates and also a committee of 
Observation, and so the unpleasantness 
ended. 

Shrewsbury Falls Into Line. 

"At a meeting f Freeholders and Inhab- 
itants, of the township of Shrewsbtiry this 
27th day of May 1775, the following per- 
sons were by a great majority, chosen a 
committee of observation for the said 
town agreeable to the direction of the 
General Continental Congress held at 
Philadelphia September 5th 1774 viz. 



Josiah Holmes John Little 

Jos. Throckmorton Samuel Longstreet 
Nicholas Van Brunt David Knott 
Cor, Vanderveer Benjamin Dennis 
Daniel Hendrickson Samuel Breese 
Thomas Morford Garret Longstreet 
Cornelius Lane. 

I " Ordered : That Daniel Hendrick.son 
and Nicholas Van Brtint, or eitherof them, 
do attend t'ae Provincial Congress now 

I setting at Trenton, with full power to rep- 
resent there, this town of Shrewsbury. 
And that Josiah Holmes, David Knott and 
Samuel Breese be a sub committee to pre- 
pare instructions for the Deputy or Depu- 
ties who are to attend the Congress at 
Trenton. 

'• Josiah Holmes was unanimously chosen 
chairman. Josiah Holmes. 

'' Chairman and Town Clerk.'" 

Freehold PxVTRiots Indignant. — Novel 
Proceedings. 

March 6th, 1775. 
A Tory pamphlet entitled '• Free 
Tho^ights on the Resolves of Congress by A 
W. Farmer " was handed to the Freehold 
Committee of Observation and Inspection 
for their opinion. The committee declar- 
ed it to be most pernicious and malignant 
in its tendencies and calculated to sap the 
foundation of American liberty. The 
pamphlet was handed back to their con- 
stituents who gave it a coat of tar and 
turkey buzzards feathers, one person re- 
marking that " although the feathers 
were plucked from the mos^ stinking of 
fowls, he thought it fell far short of being 
a proper emblem of the authors odious- 
ness to the friends of freedom and he 
wished he had the pleasure of giving the 
author a coat of the same material.'" 

The pam^jhlet in its gorgeous attire was 
then nailed to the pillory post. 

The same committee severely denounc- 
ed a Tory pamphlet written by James 
Eivington, editor of Kivington's Eoyal Ga- 
zette, the Tory paper, printed in New 
York. 

By the following resolves it will be seen 
that the citizens of Upper Freehold favor- 
ed arming the people if necessary, to op- 
pose the tyrannical acts of Great Britain. 
A striking illustration of the stirring 
events of that perilous time is found in 
the fact that before a year had elapsed 
some of the prominent men in this meet- 
ing were aiding Great Britain to the best 
of their ability by voice, pen or sword : 



34 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Upper Freehold Resolitions. 

•' May 4th 1775. This day, agreeable to 
previous notice a very considerable num- 
ber of the principal inhabitants of tins 
township met at Imlaystown. 

"John Lawrence Es<i. in tlie chair; Wlien 
the following resolves were unanimously 
agreed to : 

'' Resolved, I'liat it is our first wish to 
live in unison with Great Britain, agree- 
able to the principles of the Constitution ; 
that we consider the unnatural civil war 
which we are about to be forced into, 
with anxiety and distress but that we are 
determined to oppose the novel claim of 
the Parliament of Great Britain to raise a 
revenue in Amtrica and risk every possi- 
ble consequence rather than to submit to 
it. 

•' Resolved. That it appears to this 
meeting that there are a suflBcient num- 
ber of arms for the people. 

•' Resolved. Thatasum of money be now 
raised to purchase what further quantity 
of Powder and Ball may be necessary ; 
and it is recommended that every man 
capable of bearing arms enter into Com- 
panies to train, and be prepared to march 
at a minutes warning ; and it is (urther 
recommended to the people that they do 
not waste their powder in fowling and 
hunting. 

•' A subscription was opened tvnd one 
hundred and sixty pounds instantly paid 
into the hands of a person appointed for 
that purpose. 'I'he officers of four com- 
panies were then chosen and the meeting 
bi'oke up in perfect unanimity. 

" Emsiia Lawkrmk. Clerk.'' 



THE OUTLAWS OF THE 1 INES. 

Among the most noted of these scoun- 
drels may be mentioned Lewis Fenton, 
Jacob Fagan, Thomas and Stephen Burke 
alias Emmons, Ezekiel Williams, Richard 
Bird, John Bacon, John Giberson, John 
Wood, John Farnham, Jonathan and 
Stephen West, DeBow aud Davenport. 

Bird and Davenport appear to have op- 
erated principally in old Dover township. 
Giberson's head quarters appear tj have 
been in the lower part of Burlington, from 
whence he made occasional raids into Staf- 
ford, then the southern township of Mon- 
moutii county. 



In speaking of the Pine Robbers, Howe's 
Collections give several items derived 
chiefly from tra<litionary sources, relating 
to some of these notorious scoundrels. 
We give their substance below. ap2)en':ling 
occasional corrections and a large amount 
of additional matter. The compiler of 
the above named work derived his infor- 
mation Irom aged citizens of the country 
over three score years after the events re- 
ferred to occurred. By comparing their 
traditionary accounts with letters written 
from Freehold and vicinity at the time, it 
will be seen that they differ only in minor 
details. 

jn speaking of Howell township. Howe 
says : 

'• Superadded to the other liorrorsof the 
Revolutionary war in this region, the pines 
were infested with numerous robbers, who 
had caves Vnu-rowed in the sides of sand 
hills, near the margin of swamps, in llie 
most secluded situations, which were cov- 
ered with brush so as to be almost undis- 
cernable. At dead of night these miscre- 
ants would sally forth from their dens to 
plunder, burn and murder. The inhsihi 
tants, in constant terror, w>ie obliged tor 
safety to carry their muskets w'tii them 
into the fields, and even to the house oi 
worship. At length, so numerous and au- 
dacious had tliey become, that the state 
government ofi'ei'ed large rewards for 
their destruction, and they were hunted 
and shot like wild beasts, when they weri^ 
almost entirely extirpated."' 

The first of whom We shall speak i^ 

Lewis Fenton. 

Fenton wa« originally a blacksmith, and 
learned h-s trade at Freehold. On one 
occasion he robbed a tailor's shop in that 
township. Word was sent him that if he 
did not restore the clothing within a week 
he should be hunted and shot, [ntimida 
ted by the tiireat, he returned the proper 
ty accompanied by the following fiendish 
note : 

"I have returned your d — d rags. 
In a short time I am coming to burn your 
barns and houses, and roast vou all liice a 
pack of kittens." 

In August, 177'J, this villain, at the head 
of his gang, attacked, at midnight, the 
dwelling of Mr. Thomas Farr. in the vi- 
cinity of Imlaystown. The iamily. con- 
sisting of Mr. Farr and wife (both aged 
persons) and their daughter, barricaded 
the door with logs of wood. The assail- 
ants first attemj'ted to beat in the door 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



35 



with rails, but being unsucpssful, fired 
through a volley of ball;, one of which 
broke the leg of Mr. Farr. Then forning 
an entrance at the back door, they mur- 
dered his wife and dispatched him as he 
lay helpless on the floor. His daughter, 
though badly wounded, escaped, and the 
gang, fearing she would alarm the neigh- 
borhood, precipitately fled without wait- 
ing to plunder. 

After perpetrating many enormitir-;, 
Feriton was shot, about two miles helow 
Blue Ball, under the following cir<Mim- 
stances : 

Fenton and Burke beat and robbed a 
young man named VanMater of his meal. 
as he was going to mill. He escaped and 
conveyed the information to Lfp's Legion, 
th«n at th« Court Housr. A part^ staited 
otFin a wagon in pursuit, consisting of the 
Sergeant. VanMater and two soldiers. 
The soldiers lay on the bottom of the 
wiigon concealed under the straw, while 
tlie sergeant, disguised :is a ountryman, 
sat with VanMater on th« seat. To in- 
oi'ease the deception, two or th)'ee pmpty 
barrels were put m the wagon. On pass- 
ing a low grpggery in the pines, Fenton 
came out with ■> pistol in hand and com- 
manded tliem to stop. Addressing Van- 
Mater he said : 

" You d d rascal ! I gave you such 

a whippin.' I thought you would not dare 
to show your head ;" then changing the 
subject inquired, ' where are you going?" 

" To the salt works," was the reply. 

" Have you any brandy ?" rejoined the 
robber 

" Yes ! will you have some ?"' 

A bottle was given him^ he put his foot 
on the hub of the wagon, and was in the 
act of drinking, when rlif sergeant touched 
the foot of one of the soldiers, who arose 
and shot him through th^ head. His 
brains werp scattered over the side of the 
w-agon. Burke, then in 'he woods, hear 
ing the report and supposing it a signal 
from his companion, discharged his rifle 
in answer. The party went in pursuit, 
but he escaped. 

Careh^ssly throwing the body into the 
wagon, they drove back furiously to the 
Court House, where, on their arrival, they 
.jerked out the corpse by the heels, as 
though it had been that of some wild ani- 
mal, with the ferocious exclamation : 
" Here is a cordial for your tories and wood 
robbers f^ 

In the above version it is stated that 
Fenton's companion was Burke, but an- 



cient papers published during the war say 
it was DeBow. Of the two Burkes alias 
Emmons, Th«mas and Stephen, we shall 
have occasion to speak before concluding. 

By the following extract it will he seen 
that the brutal attack by Fenton and his 
ganir on Thomas Farr and family, occurr- 
ed in Juiy, instead of August, as stated in 
the foregoing traditionally aitcouni fr,om 
Howe : 

'• July 31st, 1779.— Thomas Farr and 
wife were murdered in the niL'ht near 
Crosswicks Baptist meeting house, and 
daughte- b;idly wounded by a gang sup- 
posed to be under the lead of Lewis Fen- 
ton. About the same time Fenton broke 
into and robbed the house of one An- 
drews, in M. n;nouth ('-ounty. Governor 
Livingston offered £500, reward for Fen- 
ton and £300, and £2-50 for persons assist- 
ing him." 

The Penn.sylvania Pacl<et (1779) gives a 
notice of the attack on VanMater by Fen- 
■on, which corresponds with the foliowing 
from another ancient paper. .Sept. 29, 
1779, probably written by a Freehold cor- 
respondent : 

" On Thursday last (September 23d, 
1779), a Mr. V^inM.iter was knocked ofF 
his horsf^ on the road near Longstreet's 
Mills, in Monmouth County, by Lewis 
Fenton and one De Bow, by whom he was 
stabbed in the arm and otherwise much 
abused, besides being robbed of his saddle. 
In the meantime another person coming 
up, which drew the attention of the rob- 
bers, gave VanMater an opportunity to 
escape. He wnt directly and informed 
a Serjeant's gaurd of Major Lee'i; liglit dra- 
goons, who were in the neighborhood, of 
what had happened. The serjeant im- 
mediately impi'esed a wagon r.nd horses 
and 6rdered three of his men to secrete 
themselves m it under some hay. Hav- 
ing changed his clothes and procured a 
guide, he made haste, thus equipped, to 
the place where Fenton lay. On the ap- 
proach of the wagon, Fenton (his compan- 
ion being gone) rushed out to plunder it. 
Upon demanding what they had in it. he 
was answered a little wine :;nd spirit. 
These articles he said he wanted, and 
while advancing toward tlie wagon to 
take possession of them, one of the sol- 
diers, being previously informed who he 
was, shot him through the head, which 
killed him instantly on the spot. Thus 
did this villain end his days, which it is 
to be hoped will at least be a warning to 
others, if not to induce them to throw 



ot:i 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



themselves* on the rnerey of their Injured 
country.'" 

In the early part of September, 1779, 
shortly before the VanMater affair, four of 
Fenton's gang were captured by- the mdi- 
tia and lodged in Freehold jail. 

.Ij»lCOB Fagan. 

F.iiXan, also a monster in wiekcdness, 
was killed in Shrewsbury by n party of 
militia under Mnjor Benjumin Denni.s. 
The account here given, is from Mrs. 
.\melia Coryel. a daughter of Mr. Denni'-', 
living in JanUMvy, 1843, in Phi!adelph;a, 
and who, as will be seen in the n;irration, 
narrowly escii])ed death from the ruffians: 
'' On Mond.iy in the autumn <^f 1778, 
Fngnn, Bi^ke and Smith c;une to the 
dwelling of Major Dennis, on the .soutli 
side of Man;isquan river, four miles below 
Howell Mills, to rob it of some plunder 
captured from a British vessel. Fragan 
had formerly been a ue-.w neigliboi-. 
Smith, .in honest citizen, who liail j"ined 
the otl>er tw", the most notorious lobbers 
of their time, for the purpose of belrnying 
them, prevailed upon th'jm 'o remain in 
theii' lurking place while he entered the 
house to ^iscertain if the v^aj' was clear. 
On entering he appr'zed Mrs. Dennis of 
her danger. Her daughter Amelia (after- 
wards Mrs. Goryel), a girl of fourteen, hid 
a pocket book contnining $80, in ;i bed- 
tick, atid with her little brother hastily 
retreated to a swamp near. Shf> had 
scarcely left when they entered, searched 
the house nnd the bed. but witliout suc- 
cess. 

"After tbri'atening Mrs. !)( nnis. and 
ascertaining if she was unwilling to give in 
tormsition where the treasure was conceal- 
ed, one of tliein jtroposed to murder her. 
•' No,'" replied his comrnd*- ; '' let the 

d n rebel b h live. The counsel ot 

the first prevailed. They took her to a 
young cedar tree, and suspended her to it 
by the neck with a bed cord. In her 
struggles she got free and escaped. 
Amelia, observing them from her hiding 
place, just tlieii descried .John Holmes ap- 
proachmg m her father's wagon over a rise 
of ground two hundred y;'rds distant, and 
r;in towards him. I'he robbers fired fit 
lier; the bail whistled over her head and 
buried itself in an oak. Holmes abandon- 
ed the wagon and escaped to thf» woods. 
They then plundeipd the wagon and went 
off. ' 

"Thene.xtday Major Dennirf renicyve I 
his family to Shrewsbury, under ])rotec 



tion of the guar< 
companions, an( 



Smith stole from his 
informed Dennis they 
were coming th<* next evening to more 
thoroughly search his dwelling, and pro- 
j)Osed thai he and his comrades should be 
waylaid at a place agreed upon. On 
Wednes'lay evening the Miijor.with a par- 
ty of militia, lay in ambush at the appoint- 
ed s])ot. After a wiiile Smith drove by in 
a wagon intended for the })luiider, and 
Fagan and Burke came behind on foot. 
At a given signal fro u Smith, which was 
something siid to tiie horses, the militia 
fired and the robbers disappeared. On 
Saturday, some hunters in a groggt>ry. 
made a bet that Fagan was killed. 
Se .rch was made and his body was found 
and buried. On Sunday, the event becom- 
ing known, the peojde assembled, disin- 
twrred the remains, and alter heaping in- 
dignilie.-. upon it, enveloped it in a tarred 
cloth Mud suspended it in chains, with i«in 
l)ands .irnund it, from a large chestnut 
tree about a mile from 'he Court House, on 
the road to Colts Neck. There hung the 
corpse in mid air, rocked to and fio by the 
winds, a horrible warning to his comrades, 
and a terror to travellers, until ' he birds 
of prey i)icked '.he flesh from its bono.- 
and the skeleton fell piecemeal to the 
ground. Tradition affirms that the skull 
was afterwards })lace<l .-gainst tl^e tree. 
with a pipe in its mouth in derision. 

'' Mrs Dennis, wife of M ijor Dennis, on 
anotlier occasion came n^e^ir neing kiiled 
by a par.y of Hessians, who entered her 
dwelling, and alter rudely accosting hei'. 
knocked her down with their muskeis and 
left lier for dead, in the July succeeding 
the <leath of Fagan, her husband was 
shot by liie robi^ers Fen 'on and Emmons, 
as he was travelling from Coryel's Ferry 
to Shrewsbury. After the murder of her 
husband, she married John liaaibert. act- 
ing fjrovernor of New .leisev in 1802. She 
died in 1835. "" 

Fagan's death ab'ove referred to oc- 
curred in September. 1778. An ancient 
paper has a communication dated October 
1st, 1778, which says : 

" About ten days ago -Jacob Fagan, wlio 
having previously headed a number of 
villain.s in Monmouth county that have 
committed divers robl)eries and were the 
terror of travellers, was shot. Since 
whicii his body lias been gibbeted on the 
]iublic highvvav in that county, to deter 
others from i>c-rpetrating the like detest- 
able crimes." 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



37 



THE OUTLAWS OF THE TINES. 



Stephen Burke alias Emmon.s, Stephen- 
West AND EZEKIEL WiLLIAMS. 

The following is an extract from a let- 
ter dated at Monmouth Court House, -Jan- 
uary 29th, 1778 : 

" The Tory pine robbers, who have 
.their haunts and caves in the pines and 
have been for some time past a terror to 
the inhabitants of this county, have dur- 
ing the course of the present week, met 
with a very eminent disaster. 

"On Tuesday evening last (January 26th) 
Captain Benjamin Dennis, who lately 
killed the infamous robber Fagan, with 
a party of his militia, went in pursuit of 
three of the most noted of ,the Pine Kob 
hers and was so fortunate as to fall in 
with them and kill them on the spot. 
'I'heir names are Stephen Burke alias 
Emmons, Stephen West and Ezekiel 
Williams. Yesterday they were brought 
up to this place and two of them it is said 
will be hanged in chains. This signal 
piece of service was effected through the 
instrumentality of one John VanKirk 
who was prevailed upon to associate with 
them on purpose to discover thoir practi- 
ces an"! to lead them into our hands. He 
conducted himself with so much address 
that the robbers and especially the three 
above named, who were the leading vil- 
lains, looked upon him as one of their 
body, kejit him constantly with them and 
eiitrusted him with all th.ur designs. 

"VanKirk at proper seasons gave intelli- 
gence of their movements to Captain Den- 
nis who conducted himself accordingly, 
'i'hey were on the eve of setting off for 
New York to make sale of tiieir plunder, 
when VanKirk informed Captain Dennis 
of the time of their intended departure 
(which was to have been on Tuesday 
night last) and ot course they would take 
to their boats. In consequence of which 
and agreeable to the directions of Van- 
Kirk. tlie captain and a small party of 
his militia i)lanted themselves at Rock 
Pond, near the sea shore, and shot Burke, 
West and Williams in the manner above 
related. 

•'We were at first in hopes of keeping 
VanKirk under the rose, but the secret is 
out and of course he must fly the county, 
for the Tories are so highly exasperated 
against him that death will certainly be 



his fate if he does not leave Monmouth 
County. The Whigs are soliciting contri- 
butions in his favor, and from what I have 
already seen, have no doubt that they will 
present him with a very handsome sum. 
I question whether the destruction of the 
British fleet could diffuse more universal 
joy through the inhabitants ot Monmouth 
than has the death of the above three 
most egregious villains." 

Refugee Version of the Death of Burke 
a/zas Emmons, West and Williams. 

William Courlies, of Shrewsbury, who 
joined the British about the last of 1778, 
testified before a British Court Martial in 
answer to the question as to what he 
knew respecting the deaths of Stephen 
West, Stephen Emmons alias Burke, and 
Ezekiel VVilliams, as follows : 

" He (the deponent) was carried prison- 
er to Monmouth in January, 1779, on the 
'night of the 24th of that month. He saw 
Captain Dennis of the itebel service bring 
to Freehold Court House three dead bod- 
ies ; that Ca[)tain Dennis being a neighbor 
of his (the deponent's) he Jisked where 
those men were killed. He replied, they 
were killed on the shore, where they were 
coining to join their regiments. Two of 
them, he said, belonged to Colonel Morris' 
corps, in General Skinner's brigade ; the 
other had been enlisted in their service by 
those two belonging to Colonel Morris' 
corps. He said, also, he (Capt. Dennis) 
had employed a man to assist them in 
making their escape at a place where 
he (Dennis) was to meet with them 
on the shore, at which place he did meet 
them ; that on coming to the spot he 
(Dennis) surrounded them with his party; 
that the men attempted to fire, and not 
being able to discharge their pieces, begged 
for quarters and claimed the benefit of be- 
ing prisoners of war. He ordered them 
to be fired on, and one of them by the 
name of Williams fell ; that they were all 
bayonetted by the party and brought to 
Monmouth ; and that he (Dennis) receiv- 
ed a sum of money for that action, either 
from the Governor or General Washing- 
ton ; which of the two he does not recol- 
lect." 

It is only necessary to say in connection 
with the above by Courlies's own statement, 
that at least two, if not all three, deserved 
death by the usual rule of warfare. They 
had evidently been noted for their ma- 
rauding expeditions, as a reward was 
offerei for them. They may have belong- 



38 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ed to Skinner's " Greens " (the Loyalist 
organization of Jerseymen, so termed from 
their uniforms), but they had been noted 
for their frequent visits witliin the Amer- 
ican lines, plundering, acting of course as 
R])ies, and endeavoring to enlist men for 
the British service within the patriot lines. 
The third man we infer remained m hid- 
ing places in the county, and when the 
others came over from the British lines 
would join them in their marauding expe- 
ditions, and he was shot while trying to 
join the enemy. 

Jonathan West. 

•' Jonathan West, another of this lawless 
crew, in an affray with some of the inhab- 
itants of Monmouth, was taken prisoner to 
the Court House. His arm, being horribly 
mangled, was amputated. He soon after 
escaped to the pines and became more 
desperate than before. He used the 
stump of his arm to hold his gun. Some-" 
time later he was again pursued, and on 
refusing to surrender, was shot." 

Five Men Condemned. 

The following item was published i)e 
cember, 1782: 

" Five men were convicted at Mon- 
mouth Court House of burglary, felony, &c., 
and sentenced to be hanged — three on 
one Friday, the other two the next Fri- 
day." 

Three refugees named Farnham, Burge 
and Patterson were executed at one time 
at Freehold. Our impre.ssion is that they 
are the three men referred to in the above 
paragraph, and that the other two were re 
prieved. We pre.sume that Farnham is 
the same man who tried to shoot young 
Russell (as mentioned in speaking of the 
liussell outrage) while he was lying on the 
floor supposed to be mortally wounded 
but was prevented by Lippencott, who 
knoci<ed uj) his musket. 

ExEouTiox OF T110.MAS Burke and John 
Wood. 
The following is irom an ancient paper : 
" July 22nd 177S. We learn that the 
Court of Oyer and Terminer and (leneral 
Jail delivery held in Monmouth in June 
last, the following jiersoii.s were tried and 
found guilty of burglary viz : Tlionias Em- 
mons alias Bourke. Johti Wootl, Michael 
Millery, Willia.m Dillon and Robert Mc- 
MuUen. The two former were executed 
on Fiiday last and the other three re- 
fuieved. At the same time Ezekiel For- 



man, John Polhemus and William Grover 
were tried and convicted of hij;h treason 
and are to be executed on the 18th of 
August next.'" 

William Dillon and Robert McMuUen, 
mentioned above, were pardoned, but they 
showed no appreciation for the favor, for 
we find that shortly after, in September, 
Dillon piloted a British expedition into 
old Cranberry Inlet, opposite Toms River, 
to endeavor to recapture the ship " Love 
and Unity," which a short time before 
had been made a prize of by the Ameri- 
cans, the particulars of which will be giv- 
en in s()eaking of privateering at Toms 
River and other places in old Monmouth 
during the war. When this expedition 
arrived at the Inlet, Rob*rt McMullen, 
who seems to have been on shore waiting 
for them, siezed a small boat, hurrahed for 
the British, and rowed off to join their 

Executions at Freehold. 

The late Dr. Samuel Forman stated that 
no less than thirteen pine robbers, refu- 
gees and raurdert^rs were executed at dif 
ferent times on one gallows, wliich stood 
near the tree where Fa^an was hung in 
the vicinity of the Court House, and that 
he assisted in the erection of the gallows. 

We are not certain who the thirteen 
were, but most of them are probably men- 
tioned in the foregoing and other chap- 
ters, if those hung in chains after lieiug 
shot are included. 

Stephen Edwards was executed at Free- 
hold for being a spy. Thomas Emmons 
alias Burke, John Wood, Farnham, Burge 
and Patterson were hung for burghiry, 
felony, &c. Ezekiei Forman, John Poihe- 
mus and William Grover were sentenced 
to be exccuteil, but wo have found no men- 
tion of the sentence bt^ing carried into ef- 
fect — but from circumstantial evidence ir. 
is probable that they were reprieved. 
Fagan was iiung in chains after being 
shot, though not on the gallows. After 
Stephen Burke, West and Williams were 
shot and brought to Freehohf, the Ameri- 
can account says the bodies of two of the 
three were to be hung in chains. 

In addition to executions, &c., al)ovo 
mentioned, a refugee named James Pew, 
ibrmerly of Middletown townshii), joined 
the British and was taken })risoncr by the 
Americans November lOtlr, 1779, ;ind con- 
fined in Freehold jail, and five days after 
was shot by James Tilley, who was acting 
as sentry over him. It is probable that 
Pew was shot in attempting to escape. It 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



39 



is said that a coroner's jury condemned 
Tilley, but after two or three days confine 
ment he was discharged. 

Davenport, the Refugee Leader of Dover. 

The refugee leader Davenport appears 
to have confined most of his operations 
within the limits of the old township of 
Dover, then in Monmouth, now in Ocean. 
The rnilitia stationed at Toms River were 
so active thi.t Davenport and his band o( 
desperadoes had but little chance to do 
serious mischief except by plundering 
dwellings at a distance from the principal 
settlements. 

The most noted aflfliir in which Daven 
port was concerned vvas in aiding the 
British expedition which captured the 
Block House at Toms River, and burned 
the village March 24th, 1782. One account 
of this affair says that Davenport vvas 
wounded when attacking ihe Block House^ 
if so it must have been slightly ; as on tlie 
first of June following helandedat Forked 
River, ten miles below Toms River, with 
eighty men, half white and iialf black, in 
two barges. They first landed on the 
nortli side of Forked River and plundered, 
among others, the hou.ses ot Samuel 
Woodmansee and hh brother who resided 
on what are now known as the Jones' and 
Holmes' places. They then proceeded 
across the south branch to the place in 
late years best known as " the Wright 
place '" (formerly belonging to the father 
of Caleb Wright, tlie nopular railroad 
conductor) in which at this time livefl 
Samuel Brown, an active member of the 
old Moninout.h militia. 

They plund.-red Mr. Brown's dwelling, 
insulted his family, and burnt his salt 
works and came new capturiig Mr. Brown 
himself, who had barely time to escape in- 
to the woods. They were particulnrly in- 
Cv'-rnsed against him for his Jiciivity in the 
patriotcause, he having, among other du- 
ties, served a year at the military jjost at 
Toms River. 

After completing their work of destruc- 
tion at Forked River, they proceeded 
down Forked River to the mouth, when 
one barge went up Barnegat bay, while 
the other, witii Davenport himself, pro- 
ceeded south to endeavor to destroy the 
important salt works of Newlin's at Ware- 
town, andotlK'r salt works along the bay. 
Davenport expected to meet with no op- 
position. av~! he supposed there were no 
militij.1 near enough to check him. But 
he had hardly jzot out of the mouth of 



Forked River into the open bay when he 
perceived a boat heading for him. His 
crew advised him to return as they told 
him the other boat must have some ad- 
vantage or they would not venture to ap- 
proach. Daven2wrt told them that they 
could see the other boat was smaller and 
had fewer men and he ridiculed their 
fear. lie soon found, however, why it 
was that the American boat, ventured to 
attack them. Davenport's men had only 
muskets with which to defend themselves; 
the Americans had a cannon or swivel, and 
when within proper distance, they fired it 
with so effective an aim that Davenport 
himself was killed at the first discharge, 
and his boat damaged and upset by the 
frightened crew. It happened that the 
water where they were was only about 
four feet deep*and his crew waded ashore, 
landing near the mouth of Oyster Creek, 
between Forked River and W^aretown, and 
thus escaped, scattering themselves in va- 
rious directions in tlie woods and swamps. 

At Barnegat, some five miles south of 
where Davenport was !:il!ed, lived many 
Quakers who took no part in the war. 

A day or so after Davenport's death 
some of his crew in a starved condition 
called on Ebenezer Collins and other 
Quakers at Barnegat, begging for food, 
which was given them, after which they 
left for parts unknown. 

Thus ended the career of Davenport 
whose most noted exploit was in aiding a 
foreign fee to murder men who were once 
his neigtibors and friends, burn tlieir 
houses, and turn their families adrift upon 
the world. 

Some distance back of Toms River is a 
little stream called "Davenport's Branch," 
which some suppose derives its name from 
Davenport's having places of concealment 
in the vvo^da and swamps along its banks. 

Richard Bird, the Potters Creek Outlaw. 

This scoundrel, who was probaoly con- 
nected with Davenport's gang, was very ob- 
noxious lo the Americans on account of 
the many outrages in which he was con- 
cerned. 

He was intimately acquainted with all 
the roads and bye paths in the woods and 
swamps' in Dover tovynship, and for a long 
time he managed to elude the vigilence 
of the militia. One day, however, he with 
a companion was seen along the road, a 
little south of Toms River, by someone, 
who at once notified the militia, two or 
three of whom immediately started in pur- 



40 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



suit. Bird's comrade escaped by hiding 
under a bridge over which the pursuers 
passed, and Bird himself managed loelude 
them till after dark. His pursuers had 
heard that he occasionally visited a young 
woman of low character who lived in a 
lone cabin in the woods, and late in the 
evening they approached the cabin, and 
looking through the window saw Bird 
seated in the lap of a young woman. One 
of the militia fired through the window 
and Bird dropped ott" the girl's lap on the 
floor dead. The girl wa'< so little affected 
by his death, that when the pursuers 
burst open the door and entered the room 
they found her busily engaged m rifling 
his pockets. Bird appears to have made 
his headquarters in the vicinity of the 
village of Bayville, formerly Potters Creek, 
in Dover township. • 

Bird was a marrietl man, but when he 
joined the refugees, his wife forsook him 
and went to Toms River, where she resi- 
ded many years after his death. While 
he was pursuing his wicked career, she 
bitterly denounced him, yet when she 
heard of his death, she greatly grieved, so 
much so that her neighbors expressed 
their surprise, knowing the disgrace he 
had been to her. The oimple minded 
woman replied in substance, that it was 
not the man she so much cared but he 
often sent her a quarter of venison when 
he had more than he could use, and she 
should so miss such presents now ! 

A Bayville correspond,ent of the New 
Jersey Courier mentions the death of a 
relative of Dick Bird, a lady named Mi's. 
Mercy Worth, who lived to the remark- 
able age of 106 years, 6 months, and 24 
days, who died March 'ith, 1873. Her 
tatlier was one of Washington's soldieis 
and served throughout the war. Her 
mother was a sister of the notovious Ricli- 
a/rd Bird, and moved away from Cedar 
Creek, Lacy township, for fear that Bird 
would be killed at her house, near which 
he had a cave where he stayed at 'light, 
which can still be seen. 

CAFIWIN WILLIAM TOM. 



A West Jersey PionerT — After whom was 
Toms River named ? — The coming oi" 
the English — Indian Justice — Discove- 
ry of Toms River. 

In regard to the origin ot the name of 
Toms River, we have two distinct tradi- 
tions ; one alleging that it was named 
after a somewhat noted Indian, who once 



lived in its vicinity ; the otlier attributes 
it to a certain Captain William Tom, who 
resideil on the Delaware two hundred 
years ago, and who it is said jienetraied 
through tije wilderness to the seashore, on 
'\n exploring expedition, where he discov- 
ered the stream now known as Toms Riv- 
er ; upon his return he made such favor- 
able representations of the land in its vi- 
cinity, that settlers were induced to couit- 
here and locate, and these settlers named 
it Toms River, alter Mr. Tom, becaiise he 
first brought it to the notice of the whites. 
While the ivriter of this, after patient in- 
vestigation acknowledges that he can find 
nething that co?ie/i<siv6'(y settles the question, 
yet he is strong in the belief that tiie place 
derives its ntane from Mr. Tom, for the 
following reasons : First, Though there 
was a noted Indian residing at Toms Riv- 
er a century ago, known as '"Indi-tn Tom," 
yet the phu:e is known to have borne the 
name of Toms River when he was q'lite a 
young man ; it is not reasonable to sup- 
pose the place wae named after him when 
he was scarce out of his teens. Second, 
the position and business of Cajitain Wil- 
liam Tom, was such as to render it ex- 
tremely probably that the tradition relat- 
ing to liim is correct. Much diftioulty li;is 
been found in making researches in tliis 
matter, as Capt. Tom was an active man 
among our first settlers before our West 
Jersey records begin, and information re- 
garding him has to be sought for in tiie 
older records of New York and New Castle, 
Delaware. In his day 'outliern and West- 
ern Jersey were under control of officials, 
whose headquarters were at New Castle, 
Del. ; these officials were appointed by the 
authorities at New York. In his time 
Capt. -lohn Carr appears to have be^-n the 
highest official among the settlers on both 
sides of the Delaware, acting as Commis- 
sioner, &c. But at times it would seem 
that (Japt. Tom was more relied upon in 
managing public affairs by both the Gover- 
nors at New York, and the early settlers 
than any other man among them. In the 
various [)Ositions which he iield, heap- 
pe'irs to have unselfishly and untiringly 
exerted himself for the best interests of 
the settler? and the government. 

He held at difierent times the position.- 
of Commissary, Justice, Judge, Town 
Clerk and Keei)ei of Official Records rela- 
tiiiiito the settlements on bothsides of the 
Delaware, collector of quit rents, Ac. As 
collector of quit rents anil agent to sell 
lands, his duties called him throughout 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



41 



the .Southern half ®f our State, wherever 
settlers were found, and in search of elig- 
ible places for settlers to locate. And here 
his duties seem to have been somewhat 
-.inftilar to those performed for the rrojiri- 
•^Aors by the late Francis W. Brinley> so 
well remembered by oiu' citizens. We 
Jind that Capt. Tom was continually trav- 
eling to and fro in the performance of his 
duties, was among the "first while men to 
cross the State to New York, was on good 
terms with the Indians, with whom he 
■ •ontitmally must have mingled, and it is 
not at all unlikely in the performance of 
his duties, he crossed to the shore by In- 
dian paths, so numerousand so frequented 
by the red men in his time, and thus vis- 
ited the stream now known as Toms River. 

As no f>utline of Capt. Tom's life and 
services has ever been i)ublished, we give 
the substance of the facts found lelating 
to him, not only because of its probable 
bearing on the history of cld Monmouth, 
and that our citizens may know who he 
was, but also because it gives an interest- 
ing c lapter in the history of our State. It 
will be seen that lie was a prominent, 
uusted and influential man before the 
founding of Philadelphia, Salem or Bur- 
biigton, or before any considerable settle- 
ments existed in New Jersey. In looking 
back to the past, it seems a long while to 
Indian Tern's day, but Capt. William Tom 
lived nearly a century before him. The 
followin;; items are coUecteii from New 
York, Pennsylvania and Deloware records. 

C.\rT. William Tom came to this coun- 
try with the English expedition under Sir 
Robert Carre and Col. Richard NichoJls 
which conquered the Dntcii at New Am 
sterdam, (New York) August. 1664. Im- 
mediately after the English had taken f 'r- 
mal possession of New Yoi;k. two vessels, 
the- •• Guinea " and the " William and 
Nicholas,'" under command of Sir Robert 
• "arre were despatched to attack the Dutch 
settlements on the Delaware river. After 
a feeble resistance the Dutch surrendered 
about the first of October of the same year 
(1664). Capt. Tom accompianied this ex- 
pedition, and that he rendered valuable 
•service there is evidence by an order is- 
sued by Gov. Nicholls JuneSO, 1665, which 
states that for William Tom's " good 
services at Delaware," there shall be grant- 
ed to him the lands of Peter Alricks, con- 
fiscated for hostility to the English. Capt. 
Tom remained in his majesty's service un- 
til August 27, 1668; during the last two 
years of this time he was Commissary on 



the Delaware. He was discharged from 
his majesty's service on the ground as is 
alleged " of good behaviour." in the ear- 
ly part of 1668, a servant of Mr. Tom's was 
killed by some evil disposed Indians, who 
it is said also killed one or more servants 
of Peter Alricks at the same time. The 
Indians genera,lly were dispu-ed to live on 
amicable terms with the whites, and these 
murders were the result \i would seem of 
selling liquor lo the Indians, the majority 
of whom seeing its evil effects, requested 
the white authorities to prohibit the sale of 
it among them. The perpetrators of these 
outrages were not apjirehended, and be- 
cause this was not done, Gov. Lovelace at- 
tributes another murder two years later ; 
he severely censured the authorities " for 
to* much remissness in not avenging the 
previous murder on Mr. Tom's servant, 
Ac." • 

On the 12th of August, 1669, Capt. Tom 
was appointed collector of quit rents, 
which wei'e imposed on all persons taking 
up land along the Delaware river on both 
sides. 

This office he held for three years when 
he resigne<L Its duties must have been of 
considerable responsibility and labor, as it 
involved the necessity of visiting all places 
where settlers located from the Capes of 
the Delaware to the Falls of the Delaware 
(Trenton.) While engaged in this busi- 
ness it is probable that as he travelled 
from place to place he made it a point to 
search for eligible places for new settlers 
lo locate, and acted as agent for the sale 
of lands .-Vt one time he acted as land 
agent for John Fen wick the noted Salem 
proprietor. 

We find that Capt. Tom noi only stood 
well in the estimation of Gov. NichoUs, 
but also in th^ opinion of his successor, 
Gov. Lovelace, who at the suggestion of 
Capt. T. issued several orders relating to 
affairs on the Delaware. Aug. 12, 1669, 
Gov. Lovelace at request of Wm. Tom, 
giants certain special favors to Finns and 
others lemoving near New Castle, Del. 
By his order '• permission on request of 
Mr. Tom " was granted to families from 
Maryland to settle in the same vicinity 
" to the end that the said jJace may be in- 
habited and mamired, it tending likewise 
to the increase of the inabitants." An 
order oi the same date is preserved, which 
allows William Tom to kill and mark all 
wild hogs in the woods near his land. 

In 1671 an extraordinary council was con- 
vened in New York on the occasion of the 



42 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



arrival of William Tom and Peter Alricks, 
just from the Delaware, with the parHcu- 
lars of the Indians murdering two Cliris- 
tians (Dutcli) near Burlington. Tliese 
murders weie rommitted by two Indians 
who were known and who resided at 
" Suscunk," four miles eas' of Matinicoiik 
or Burlington Island. Gov. Lovelace in a 
letter to Capt. Tom dated ( )ctoder 6, ex- 
presses great surpsiseat what he hasleai-n- 
ed from Mr. Tom in regard to these mur- 
derH. This letter gives stringent orders to 
guard against evil disposed Indians in the 
future, an<l from it we find that Burling- 
ton Island was then occupied as a kind of 
frontier military station. Tiov. Lovelace 
" recommends a good work about Matitii- 
conk house (on Burhngton Island) which 
strengthened with a considerable guard 
would make an admirable frontier." Vig- 
oTous efforts were made to secure these 
Indian murderers, and the result is se^n 
in the following letter written by C.ipt. 
Tom to Grov. Lovelace, Dec. 25th, 1671. 
He says " that about 11 days :ince, Peter 
.\lricks came from New York, and the 
Indians desired t'> speak with us concern- 
ing the murders, whereupon they sent 
for me to Peter Rambo's. where comiui: 
they faithfully ijromised within .^ix days 
to bring in tlie murderers dead or alive • 
whereupon they sent out two Indians to 
ihe stoutest, to bring him in. not doubting 
easily to take the other, he being an In° 
dian of little courage ; but the feast In- 
dian getting knowledge of the design of 
the sachems, ran to advise his fellow, and 
advised him 'o run or else they would 
both be killed, who answered he was not 
teady, but in the morning would gowitli 
him to the Waquas, and advised him to 
go to the next house for fear of suspicion, 
wiiich lie did : and the two Indians, com- 
ing to his house at night, the one being 
his great friend, he asked him if lie would 
Kill him, who answered /' No, but the 
sacliems have ordered you to die;" wliei-^ 
upon he demanded ''what his brothers 
said ;" who answered "they say the like.'' 
Then he. holding his hands" i>efore liis 
eyes said " Kill me ;"' whereupon tiie In- 
dian that comes with Cocker shot him 
with two bullets in the breast, and gave 
him two or three cuts with a bill on the 
iiead and brought him flown to Wicaco, 
from whence we shall carrs him tomorrow 
to New Casile, there to hang him in cliains 
for which we gave to th« Sachems tive 
match coats which Mr. Alricks paid them. 
When the other Indian .'lejid the sh(»t in ! 



the night, naked as he was, he ran into 
the woods ; but this sachem promised to 
bring the other alive, tor which we prom- 
ised three match coats. The sachems 
brought a good nifiny of their young men 
with them, and there before us ihey open- 
ly told them " Now they saw a beginning, 
and all that did the like, .>liOuld be served 
in the same manner." They promised it 
any other murders were committed to 
bring in the murderers. How to believe 
them we knew not. but liie Sachems seem 
to desire no war." 

What official position Capt. Tom held 
in these transactions is uncertain, but he 
appears to have been more relied upoi. 
than any olhwr man to settle difficultie>. 
at til is time. 

In 1673 Capt. Tom was aj>j)ointed one 
of four appraisers to set a value on Tini- 
cum Island in the Delaware. Jn 1 674 he 
was app>ointed secretary or clar/c for the 
town of New Castle, and lit:; apjieais to 
have had charge of the public records for 
several years In 1673 the Dutch regain- 
ed iheir power in New York, New Jersev 
and Delaware, but retained it onlv a few 
montlis : after lliey were- again displaced 
in 1674, (iov. Andross appointed Captain.- 
Cantwell and Tom to take possession tor 
the King's use, of the fort at New Castl*. 
with the public: stores. I'liey \Tere author- 
ized to provide for the settlement and re- 
pose of the inhabitants at New Castle. 
Whorekills ( Lewesjand other places." 

In 1675 some sett'ers complainetl 
against Capt. Tom for molesting them in 
the enjoyment of meadow lands which ad- 
joined their plantation.-^. Che setllei> 
})robably .-uj)posed because they owned up- 
lands, iliey s.iould also have the use of 
meadow land without paying for the same. 
'I'lie (jrovernor ordered a compromise. In 
1676 he was .ijipointed one of the .fustice,- 
of the Peace and a .ludge of the court. 
He sat as one of the .Judges ,n an impor- 
tant suit in which the defendant was John 
Fen wick, the Salem Proprietor. .ludg- 
ment was given against Fen wick, and :■. 
warrant issued to take iiim dead oi alive. 
Fenwick finding it useless to re.-^ist, gave 
himseit ufi, and ^^•as .sent prisoner to Ne" 
York. 

Capt. Tom was reappointed justice and 
judge in 1677. Tow.nrds the latter part of 
this year complaint Wivs made that the 
town lecords of New Castle were in confu- 
sion, and Mr. I'om was ordered to arrange 
and attest them. It is not improbal-le 
that ill health prevented him trom com- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



43 



l)leting this task, as we find his death an- 
nounced January 12, 1678, coupled with 
the simple remark that, " his papers were 
in confusion." 

From the foregoing and other facts that 
are preserved, it would appear that Wm. 
Tom was about the most prominent, use- 
ful and trustworthy man among the sett- 
lers from the time of the coming of the 
English to his decease, th-it he enjoyed the 
confidence of Governors Nicholls, Lovelace 
and Andross, that his varied duties were 
performed with general satisfaction to 
settlers, Indians and officials, and we 
may safely infer that he did as much or 
more than any other man in his day " to- 
wards the settlement and repose of the 
inhabitants" on both sides of the Dela- 
ware. It IS no discredit to the name of 
Toms River that it should be derived 
from such a man. 

In speaking of Capt. Tom's discovering 
Toms River, we do not refer to its original 
discovery, nor wish to convey the idea 
that he wtis the first white man who visit- 
ed it. The stream was discovered by nav- 
igators fifty years before Capt. Tom came 
to Ameiica. They simply • maiked the 
stream on their charts without naming it. 
The particulurs as far as is known of the 
original discovery of Toms River, and 
other places along our bay ar*' too lengthy 
to be given here and may hereafter he fur 
nished in another chapter. We will say, 
however, before concluding, that the fact 
that this river had been previously visited 
by tlie Dutch, was probably not known to 
Capt. Tom and the English in this day. 

CAPTAIN JOHN BACON. 



The Refugee Leader of Monmouth and 
Burlington— An Outlaw's Career and its 
Dreadful End. 

This noteJ refugee leader, whose name 
is so well remembered by old residents of 
Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington, ap- 
pears to have confined his operations 
chiefly to the lower part of old Monmouth 
county, between Cedar Creek in what is 
now Ocean county and Tuckerton in Bur- 
lington county. His efforts were mainly 
directed to plundering the dwellings or all 
well known, active members of the old 
Monmouth militia. Many old residents 
in the section where his operations were 
carried on, consic^ered him one of the 
most honorable partizan leaders opposed 
to the patriot cause. Himself and men 



were well acquainted with the roads and 
paths through the forests of Burlington 
and old Monmouth, and had numerous 
hiding places, cabins, caves, &c., in the 
woods and swamps, where they could re- 
main until some trustworthy spy informed 
them of a safe chance to venture out on 
what was then termed a picarooninci expe- 
diiion. 

The following items, gleaned from vari- 
ous sources, give the most prominent 
events in which he was an actor. They 
aid to give a more vivid idea of the perils 
by which our ancestors were surrounded 
at home, and of the character of the man 
who, probably with the except'on of Lieu- 
tenant James Moody, was about the most 
effective refugee leader in our state. 

In ancient i>apers we have found notices 
of refugee raids in Burlington county, but 
they do not give the names of the leaders. 
It is probable that Bacon commanded 
some of these expeditions as he was well 
acquainted in Burlington, and his wife re- 
sided at Pemberton in the latter part of 
the war. About iSeptember, 1782, it is an- 
nounced that a man, supposed to be a spy 
of Bacon's, was shot in the woods near 
Pemberton, by some of the inhabitants 
who went out to hunt him ; and we find 
that the citizens of Burlington were so 
much exa.-peraied against him that they 
organized expeditions to tbliow him in old 
Monmouth. 

Bacon Kills Lieutenant Joshua Studson. 

The New Jersey Gazette, published at 
Trenton during the later years of the Kev- 
olutionary war, has a brief item to the ef- 
fect that " Lieutenant Joshua Studson 
was shot, December, 1780, by a refugee, 
near the inlet opposite Toms River.'' 

Joshua Studson had been a lieutenant 
in the Monmouth militia, and was also ap- 
pointed lieutenant in the State troops in 
Capt. Ephram Jenkins' company. Colonel 
Holmes' battalion^ June 14, 1780. Here- 
sided at Toms River. 

The following particulars of his death 
we believe to be substantially correct, 
though derived from traditiontiry sources : 

Three men named Collins, Webster and 
Woodmansee, living in the lower part of 
old Monmouth, hearing that farming pro- 
duce WHS bringing exorbitant prices in 
New York city among the British, loaded 
a whole boat with truck from farms along 
Barnegat bay, and proceeded to New York 
by way of old "Cranberry inlet opposite 
Toms River, which inlet though now 



44 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



closed, was, during the war, the next best 
to Egg Harbor, as square rigged vessels 
(ships and brigs) occasionally entered it. 
These men were not known as refugees 
but undertook the trip merely to make 
money. They arrived safely in New York, 
sold out their produce, and were about re- 
turning home when Captain John Bacon 
called on them and insisted on taking 
passage back with them. Much against 
their will, they were forced to allow him to 
come on board. They arrived safely out- 
side the b'each near the inlet before sun- 
down and lay there until after dark, being 
afraid to venture in the bay during day- 
light, in the meantime the patriotic citi- 
zens of Toms River had got wind of the 
proceedings of these men, and being de- 
termined to put a stop to the contraband 
trade, a small party under command of 
Lieutenant Studson took a boat and cross- 
ed over to the inlet and lay concealed be- 
hind a point inside, close to the inlet. 
After dark the whale boat came in, hut 
no sooner had it rounded the point, than 
to the consternation of those in it, they 
saw the boat of lliemiliiia soclose by, that 
there was no apparent chance of esca})e. 
Lieutenant Studson stood up in his boat 
and demanded theirimmediatesurrender. 
The unfortunate speculators were unarm- 
ed and m favor of yielding, but Bacon, 
fearing that his life was already forfeited, 
refused, and having his musket loaded, 
suddenly fired it with so deadly an aim, 
that the brave lieutenant instantly dropp- 
ed dead in the boat. The sudden, unex- 
pected firing and the death of Studson, 
threw the militia into momentary confu- 
sion, and before thev could decide how to 
act, the whale boat was out of sight in the 
darkness. The militia returned to Toms 
River the same night and delivered the 
body of the lieutenant to his wife, who 
was overwhelmed with sorrow at his sud- 
den and unexpected death. 

The crew of the >vhale boat, knowing 
It was not safe for them to remain at 
home, after this aftair, Hed to to the Brit- 
ish army, and were forced into service, 
but were of little use as " they were sick 
with the small pox, and suffered every- 
thing but death,'' as one of them after- 
wards said, during their brief stay with 
the British. Taking advantage of one of 
General Washington's proclamations offer- 
ing protection to deserters from the Brit- 
ish army, they were after \fards allowed to 
return home. 



Skirmish at Maxnahawkin. 

A Patriot Killed^ — Sylvester Tilton, an old 

Colts Neck citizen — His Wounding and 

Revenge. 

Anotlier affair, in which Bacon was a 
prominent actor, was the skirmish at 
Mannahawkin, in Ocean County, Decem- 
ber 30tli, 1781. The militia of this place, 
under command of Captain Reuben F. 
Randoli)h, having heard that Bacon, with 
his band, was on a raiding expedition and 
would probably try to plunder some of 
tiie patriots in that village, assembled at 
the inn of Captain Randolph's, prepareil 
to give them a reception. After waiting 
until two or three o'clock in the morning, 
they concluded it was a false alarm, and 
so retired to rest, taking the precaution to 
j)Ut out sentinels. Just before daylight 
tiie Refugees came down the road from 
the north on their way to West Creek. 
The alarm was given and the militia hasti- 
ly turned out but were compelled to re- 
treat, as the refugees trad a much larger 
force than they anticipated. As they were 
retreating. Bacon's party fired and killed 
one of the patriots named Lines Pangborn 
and wounded another named Sylvester 
'filton. The refugees did not stop to pur 
sue the Americans but passed on south 
toward* Wesi Creek. 

In regard to the wounding of Sylvester 
Ti'ton, it is a well attested fact, that the 
ball went through him below one of his 
shoulders, and that the surgeon passed a 
silk handkerchief through his body, in 
search of the ball. He recovered his 
health and strength, much to the surprise 
of all who knew how seriously he luul 
been wounded. He was convinced that a 
refugee named Brewer, one of Bacon's 
gang, was the man who had wounded him. 
and he always vowed to have satisfaction 
if he could evei- find him. After the war 
lie heard that Brewer was living in a cabin 
in some remote place near the shore, and 
he started on foot, one time, to find him. 
As he was on his way, he met a man 
named James Willetts. then quite anoted 
and highly esteemed Quaker, of old Staf- 
ford, wiio upon finding out Tilton's er- 
rand, vainly endeavored to persuade him 
to turn back. Finding ti^ would not 
WilU-ts asked permission to go along, hop- 
ing something would turn, up to make a 
peaceable ending of the affair. Tilton 
consented to his going but plumply told 
the Quaker that if he interfered he would 
flog him too. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



45 



Arriving at the house where Brewer was 
Tilton suddenly opened the door and 
rushed ;n upon him before ne could reach 
his musket, which he always kept in the 
room expecting such a visit 

Tilton WHS a powerful man and he 
<lragged Brewer to the door and gave iiim 
a most unmerciful pummelling, and then 
told him " You scoundrel ! you tried 
to kill me once, and I have now settled 
with you for it, and I want you now to 
leave here and follow the rest of your 
gang." Most of the refugees had then 
gone to Nova Scotia. 

After this affair Tilton removed to Colts 
Neck, near Freehold, where we believe 
his descendants yet live. 

Hacon at Goodluck, Forked River and 
Warltown. j 

On one of iiis picarooning or raiding ex- 
peditions, Bacon with fifteen or sixteen 
men plundered tlie dwelling house of 
John Holmes at Forked River, who then 
lived at the mill known in late years as 
Francis Cornelius' mill. The party camp- 
ed in the woods, near the house, until 
daylight and then came and demanded 
money. Mr. Holmes was supposed to be 
.-omewhat forehanded and they hoped to 
have made a good haul. In the expecta- 
tion of s'lch a visit, he had buried many 
of his valuables in his garden. The refu- 
gees pointed a bayonet to his breast and 
threatened to kill him if the money was 
not forthcoming. Mr. Holmes' wife hap- 
pened to have some money about her, 
which she delivered up and this seemed 
to satisiy tiiem as far as money was con- 
cerned ; tliey then ransacked the house 
and took provisions and such other things 
as they wanted. 

An ancient paper says that about the 
last of April, 1780, " the refugees attacked 
the house of John Holmes. Upper Free- 
hold, and robbed him of a large amount 
of Continental money, a silver watch, gold 
rin>;, silver buckles, pistols, clothing, &c."' 
It is possible that th's refers to the same 
affair— if so it occurred in old Dover town- 
ship instead of Upper Freehold. 

While a part of the gang remained at 
the mill a detachment went over to (iood- 
luck, about a mile distant, to plunder the 
houses of two staunch patriots named John 
Price and William Price, iwu brothers 
who h;id lived in West Jersey during the 
first part of the war, but for the last two 
or three years of the struggle, had resided 
at Goodluck. Tliese men had not onlv 



been active in the field during most of tbe 
war, but, to the extent of their abilities, 
aided the families of those who suffered 
at the hands of the enemy. When tlie 
dwelling of Capt. Ephraim Jenkins, at 
Toms River, was burned, and his family 
scattered, as described in a previous chap- 
ter, Lieut. John Price, (in after years, bet- 
ter known as Major Price,) took one of 
the children, a-girl, and gave her a home. 
The activity of thp Prices made them 
marked objects of refugee attentions. 

bacon's party, at this time, entered the 
houses of the Price-;, and took whatever 
they could carry, though, we believe, Miese 
patriots, like others in those dark days, kept 
buried in gardens and fields many things 
they feared the refugees mightcovet. We 
liave heard from an aged resident of Good- 
luck, a tradition of the visit of the refugees 
to the house of an American Lieutenant, 
at this village, and that the officer saw 
them. just before they revcheii the house ; 
he sprang uj) and grasped his lieutenant's 
commission, which he valued highly, from 
a high shelf, and sprang out of the back 
door just in time to escape. We presume 
this officer must have been Lieut. Price, 
as we know of no other officer then resid- 
ing at Goodluck. Among other things 
found at Major Price's was a musket, fife 
nnd drum, the two last of which c;ime near 
causing trouble among the tories them- 
selves, for as i hev marched back to Holmes' 
Mill to rejoin Bacon, they used them for 
I heir amusements with such effect, that 
Bacon thought it was apartyof Americans 
after him, and he arranged his men on 
tlie mill hill, prepared to fire as soon as 
the parry emerged from the woods. Un- 
foi'tunately for justice, he saw who the 
men were in time to stop fir'ng. The 
Refugees then impressed Mr. Holmes' 
team to carry of the plunder they had 
gaihered, and forced his son William 
Holmes to drive it ; they went on to Ware- 
town and took possession for a short time 
of a public house (of David Bennet's ? ) 
until they could find some safe way of 
getting their plunder to one of theirsecret 
rendezvous, one oi' which was supposed to 
be at this time in Mannahawkin swamj). 

Among other zealous Americans for 
whom Bacon had strong antipathy were 
Joseph Soper and his son Reuben, both 
meml)ers of Captain Reuben F. Randolph's 
militia comjiany. They lived about half 
wav between Waretown and Barnegat at 
a place known as "iSoper's Landing." His 
attentions to the Sopers were so trequent 



46 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



that they often had to sleep in the adja- 
cent swamps along Lochiel brook. 

Mr. Soper's son Reuben was murdered 
by Bacon on Long Beach about a mile 
south of Barnegat Inlet, the particulars of 
which will be given hereafter. 

At this time tiiere lived at Waretown 
an Englii-hman, named William Wilson, 
better known as " Bill Wilson,'' whoseems 
to have acted as a kind of jaekall for Ba- 
con to scent out bis prey for him. Mi'. 
Soper was a vessel builder ; at one time 
he had received pay for building a^ small 
vessel. Wilson accidentally w.as a witness 
to his receiving the money, but he did not 
know the amount. After Wil?owh!id left, 
Mr. Soper suspected he would inform Ba- 
con, and so he divided his money into two 
parcels ; a small amount in one jiarcel, 
and th^ larger part in arother, and then 
buried both lots in separate places not far 
from the house. Sure enough, in a verv 
short time, Bacon and his gang visited ihe 
house, piloted by a man with a black silk 
handkerchief over his face that he should 
not be recoiinized. This man was gener- 
ally believed to be Bill Wilson, though 
strong efforts were made 'o make the So- 
pers believe it was another man then re- 
siding at Waretown. Mr. Soper at this 
time, liad taken refuge in the swamp, and 
the house was occupied only by women 
and young children. When the refugees 
entered they at once begfin behaving very 
rudely and boisterously, flonrishing their 
weapor;s in a menacing manner, jambing 
bayonets in the ceiling, and other similar 
acts to frighten the women. Their threats 
compelled the women to lead them into 
the gardon, to the spot where the smallest 
amount of money was buried, when they 
received which they seemed to be satisfied, 
thinking it was all they had ; they then 
returned to the house and made a dean 
sweep as they had done several times be- 
fore, of provisions and clothing, and such 
other articles as they cculd carry. Among 
other things taken by Bacon at this time 
was one of Mr. Soper's shirts, which after- 
wards served Bacon's winding sheet, as be 
was subsequently killed witii it on. Bill 
Wilson could never be fairly convicted of 
actual comjtlicity in overt acts with the 
refugees, but all who knew him were con- 
vinced that he was a spy of Bacon's. It 
was alleged that he was with Bacon at 
Holmes' Mill's and at the Price's, atOood- 
luck. After the war closed he remained 
for some years in thevicinityof Waretown, 
but he found it a very uncomfortable place 



for him to live, for though no legal hold 
could be taken of him, yet occasionally 
some zealous whig, who had occasion to 
hate refugees, would take him in hand on 
a very slight pretext, and administer off- 
hand justice. At one time at Lochiel 
brook, below Waretown, Hezekiah Soper, 
whose brother was killed by Bacon, gave 
Wilson a soi:nd thrashing and then nearly 
drowned him in the brook. At length, 
finding the place did not agree with him, 
he left Waretown, and moved over to the 
North beach, a few miles above the inlet, 
where he lived a lonesome, miserable life 
until his death, which occurred some sixty 
odd years ago. 

The Massacre on Long Beach. 

Bacon Kills Capt. Steelman, Reuben So- 
per and Others — Murder of Sleeping 
Men. 

This was the most important affair m 
which Bacon was engaged. The inhuman 
massacre of sleeping men was in keeping 
with the memorable affair at Chestnut 
Neck, near Tuckerton, when Count Pu- 
laski's guards were murdered by the Brit- 
ish and Refugees. 

The massacre at Long Beach took jjlace 
about a mile south of Barnegat light house, 
and there were we think more men killed 
and wounded then than in any other ac- 
tion in that part of Old Monmouth now 
comprised within the limits of Ocean coun- 

A tory paper gives the following version 
of the affair ; 

"A cuttei from Ostend, bound to St. 
Thomas, ran aground on Barnegat Shoals, 
October 25, 1782. The American galley 
Alligator, Captain Steelman, from Cape 
May, with tweniy-five men, plundered her 
on Saturday night last of a quantity of 
Hyson tea and other valuable articles, but 
was attf.ckeid the same night by Caj)tain 
John BMCon with nine men, in a small 
boat called the Hero's Revenge, who kill- 
ed Steelman and wounded the first lieu- 
tenant, and all the party except four or 
five were either killed or wounded.'' 

In this account the number of Steelman's 
men is doubtless overestimated and Ba- 
con's underestim'^ted. When the cutter 
was stranded on the shoals, word was sent 
across the bay to the main land for help 
to aitl in saving tlie cargo, in consecjuence 
of which a party of unarmed men, among 
which were Joseph Soper and two of his 
sons, proceeded to the beach to render 
what assistance they (;ould. The party 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



47 



worked hard while there to get the goods 
through the surf on the beach. At night 
they were tired and wet, and built fires, 
around which they meant to sleep. It is 
supposed that as soon as they were all 
asleep that Bill Wilson who was there 
arose up slyly, got a boat and rowed otf to 
the main land to inform Bacon how mat- 
ters stood. 



THE LOYALISTS OF OLD MON- 
MOUTH. 

To fairly com})rehend the danjiers by 
which our patriotic ancestors were sui"- 
rounded during the early part of the 
Revolution, it is necessary to remember 
that those of its citizens v?ho openly or 
secretly favored the enemy, were not a 
mere handful of men, but ihey were num- 
bered by hundreds, and among them were 
men of all classes, from the highest to the 
lowest ; clergymen, lawyers, physicians, 
merchants, farmers, mechanics and labor- 
ing men, and unprincipled men of no par 
tioular profession oi' busine'^s, who rejoiced 
at the opportunities given by the w,ar for 
plunder, revenge and ofttimes murder. 

The best class oftories were too honorable 
to engage in midnight marauding expedi- 
tions against their former friends and 
neighbors, but cast their lot with the 
British, most of them in the military rr- 
ganiz'tion known as the " First Battalion 
New Jersey Royal Volunteers," command- 
ed by an ex-Sheritf of Monmouth county. 
They rirt-ly committwd acts dishonorable 
as soldiers, yet their former high standing 
and influential positions served to exert 
a most injurious influence on the patriot 
cause among their former friends md ?c- 
quaintances ; the example of such men 
served to entice many to the ranks of the 
enemy and to cause others secretly to 
wish tliem well, or a least, to strive to re- 
main neutral at a time when their country 
most needed their services and in a coun- 
ty wliich sufl^ered probably more severely 
• luring the war than did any other in the 
country. When (ve remember that our 
patriotic ance.stors had to contend with 
stich men, and with bands of marauding 
refugees, and also lawless robbers scattered 
through the pint's — ^all in addition to a 
foreign foe, we cannot too highly extol the 
determined, vigilant, ceaseless efforts, the 
wisdom in planning, the skill and bravery 
in execution, shown by those noble patriots 
during the long, bloody and at times 
seemingly hopeless struggle. Though we 



may concede that some who deserted their 
country were in some respects wise and 
brave, yet they were no match for those 
left behind. 

As was the case in the late war for the 
Union, the Revolution brought out from 
obscurity men whose abilities were never 
before known or suspected. 

For the first year or two of the war our 
ancestors were seriously annoyed by Tory 
sympathizes who remained at home, some 
of whom had sons, brothers or other rela- 
tives in the British army. Some of these 
remained at home because age or other 
disability unfiitted them for field service. 
These men for a time endeavored to in- 
jttre the American cause by their insidious 
wiles wherever and whenever opportunity 
offered, when their acts came to the 
knowledge of the whigs, fchey were at once 
ordered to leave, while those who remained 
quiet, though closely watched were rarely 
molested. 

Thotigh the names Loyalist or Royalist 
would properly include all who favored the 
cause of the Crown, yet they were often lim- 
ited to the more honorable class who joined 
the Royal Volunteer organization, todistin- 
s;uish them from the small marauding 
bands commonly known as Refugees. — 
Among th« tnost prominent of these loy- 
alists, were some noticed below ; it will be 
seen they numbered among them men 
of wealth, position, and learning; one suc- 
ceeded in raising five hundred men to 
follow him over to the enemy, and it is 
not a little curious to find that from two 
of these tories, descended certain men 
who, in after years, nobly served our coun- 
try in many a hard fought battle. 

In this connection io is well to add, that 
as an offset to the Tories who left Mon- 
mouth and other parts of our state, to join 
the enemy, there were a large number of 
whigs, who came here and into other 
decided patriotic counties, from Long and 
Staten Islands, when the British took pos- 
session of those places. 

Another fact should not be lost sight of, 
as it furnishes additional evidence of tne 
peculiar troubles the patriots had to con- 
tend against, and that is, that many lead- 
ing men who sided with theui in this and 
other counties of the state, during the first 
year or two of the war eventually abandon- 
ed them and went over to the Royalists. 
Of some of these and their alleged reasons 
we shall endeavor to speak in -another 
chapter. 



48 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



For much of the following we are en- 
debted to Sabine, but we have added many 
items from other sources which we deem 
reliable. 

Notices of Prominent Loyalists. 

Thomas Crowell, of Middletown, joined 
the Loyalists and was commissioned Cap- 
tain. His property was confiscated and 
advertised to be sold at the house of Cor- 
nelius Swart in Middletown, March 22d, 
1779. During the war Governor Franklin, 
of the Refugee Board, ordered him to exe- 
cute, without trial, a Monmouth officer, 
probably one of tlie Smocks, but the 
refugees who captured him protested so 
earnestly that the order was not executed. 

Lawrence Hartshoune, of Shrewsbury, 
made himself so obnoxious as a Royalists, 
that he was compelled to fly to New York. 
He was a merchant and gave the British 
valuable information. 

John Taylor, formerly Slieriffof Mon- 
mouth County, a gentleman of great 
wealth was born in 1716. When Lord 
Howe arrived in this country to offer terms 
of reconciliation, he appointed Mr. Taylor 
" His Majesty's Lord High Commissioner 
of New Jersey." This office, as well as 
the fact that all his children adhered to 
the Crown, and were in the British army, 
made him obnoxious to the whigs. He 
was indeed once tried for his life but ac- 
quitted. His property was applied to 
public use, but not confiscated, since he 
was paid for it in Continental money, 
j'et such was the depreciation of that cur- 
rency that payment was little better than 
confiscation. He died at Perth Amboy, 
in 1798, aged 82 years. His grandson was 
the celebrated Commodore Bainbridge, his 
daughter Mary having married Dr. Bain- 
bridge, father of Commodore's William and 
J«seph Bainbridge. A Dr. Absalom Bain- 
bridge was surgeon in " Skinner's Greens,'" 
the Royalist organization, elsewhere no- 
ticed. 

William Taylor, son of tlie above named 
John Taylor, had his estates confiscated, 
but after the war he purchased them 
again. He was a lawyer by profession and 
atone time Chief Justice of Jamaica. — 
He died at Amboy 1806. 

Colonel Taylor, of the New Jersey Roy- 
alists who sent Stephen Edwards as a spy 
into Monmouth, was from Middletown. — 
it IS possible that he may have been one 
of the Taylors whose property was con- 
fiscated- and advertised to be sold at Mid- 
dletown, March 22d, 1779. He may have 



been a son of the John Taylor mentioned 
above, as it seems he had more than one 
son in the British service. 

Rev. Samuel Cooke, D.D., of Shrewsbury, 
Episcopal minister, was educated at Cain's 
College, Cambridge, England, and came to 
America as a missionary of the Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, in September, 1751, locating in 
Shrewsbury a,^ successor of Rev. Thomas 
Thompson, in the care of the churches in 
Freehold. Middletown and Shrewsbury. — 
The Revolution divided and dispersed his 
flock. As a minister of the Church of 
England he thought it his duty to con- 
tinue his allegiance to the Crown, and 
joined the British in New York. At the 
Court Martial trial of Captain Richard 
Lippencott, in New York, in June, 1782. 
he was a witness and tilyled " Reverend 
Samuel Cooke, c^erk, deputy chaplain to 
the brigade of guards." His property we 
believe was confiscated and advertised to 
be sold at Tinton Falls, March 29th, 1779. 

In 1785, he settled at Fredericktown, 
New Brunswick, as rector of a church 
there. In 1791. he was commissarj^ to the 
Bishop of Nova Scotia. He was drowned 
in crossing the river St. John, in a birchen 
canoe, in 1795. His son who attempted 
to save his life perished with him. 

Thomas Leonard, a prominent citizen of 
Freehold, was denounced by the patriot 
committee for his Tory principles and 
every friend of freedom advised to break off 
all connection with him on that account. 
He went to New York and after the war 
went to St. John'*, New Brunswick. 

Joseph Holmes, by adliering to the 
Tories, lost £900. After the war he went to 
Nova Scotia and settled at SJielburne. 

Andrkw Bell, a name familiar to our 
older citizens on account ol its frequent 
recurrence in deeds relating to Proprietor 
lands, joined tlie British army as secretary 
to Sir Henry Clinton. A diary kept bj 
him up to the battle of Monmouth is pre- 
served in the library of the New Jersey 
Historical Society. He died in 1843. — 
Though we believe he was not a resident 
of Monmouth yet he was well known and 
influential throughout the county. 

John Lawrence, of Monmouth county. 
was born in 1709. He was a justice of the 
court and a surveyor, and ran the division 
line known as " Lawrence's line,'' between 
East and West Jersey. Advanced in life 
at the beginning of the Revolution he did 
not bear arms, but accepted from the 
enemy the important duty of granting 



OLD TIxVlES IN OLD MONMOITTIL 



49 



British protections to such Americans as 
he could induce to abjure the cause of 
their country and swear allegiance to 
Great Britain, for which he was arrested 
by the Americans and confined in Bur- 
lington jail for nine months. He died in 
1794 aged 86 years. We propose to refer 
to John and Elisha Lawrence, in giving 
the proceedings of the patriot meetings in 
Upper Freehold and elsewhere in the 
county in 1774-5, and in oth^r chapters 

Elish.! Lawrence, son of the above, was 
horn in 1740 At the beginning of the 
Revolution he was Slieriff of Monmouth 
County ; he foon joined the British, and 
raised by his own efforts chiefly, five hun- 
nrea men whom he commanded, and was 
commissioned by the British, Colonel of 
the First Battalion, New Jersey Royal 
Volunteers. He was taken prisoner on 
Staten Island V;y Colonel Ogden under 
General Sullivan in 1777. His property 
was confiscated and advertised to be sold 
at Wall's Mills, April 5th, 1779. At the 
conclusion of the war he hft with the 
British army, retained his rank as Colonel 
and retired on half pay. He was awarded 
by the British Government n large tract 
of land in Nova Scotia, to which he re- 
moved, but finally went back to England, 
and from ihence to Cardigan, Wales, 
where he died. He man led Mary Ash- 
field, of New York. 

John Lawrence, son of the above 
named John, and brother of Elisha, was 
born in 1747, graduated at Princeton Col- 
lege, studied medicine in the Philadelphia 
Medical College and became a physician 
of repute. In 1776 he was arrested 
by order of General Washington, and or- 
dered by the Provincial Congress to re- 
mam at Trenton on parole, but leave was 
afterwards given him to remove to Morris- 
town. As his father and brother held 
office under the British, he was narrowly 
watched. Fired at, after mucn annoyance 
(says one account — apparently a Tory 
one) by a party of militia, fie retired to 
New York among the British, where he 
practiced medicine and commanded a 
company of volunteers for the defence 
of the city. After the war in 1783, he re- 
turned to Monmouth, where he lived un- 
molested. He died at Trenton, April 29th, 
1830. In the list of names of persons in 
Upper Freehold whose property was con- 
fiscated and advertised to be sold at Wall's 
Mills, April 5th, 1779, are found the 
names of "Elisha and John Lawrence, 
son of John." 



John Brown Lawrence was a member 
of Council and a lawyer. Because of his 
official relations to the Crown, he was ar- 
rested and imprisoned in Burlington jail 
for a long time on the charge of holdiui^ 
treasonable intercourse with the enemy 
but was tried and aoqui.ted. He went to 
Canada after the war, where he received 
a large tract of land. Hi* son was the 
celebrated Commodore Lawrence of 
" Don't give up the shit) " fame, and Com- 
modore Boggs, distinguished in the late 
rebellion, was a descendan;. 

Clayton Tilton, of Slirewsbury, joined 
the loyalists and was commissioned as 
Captain. He was captured by the Ameri- 
cans in the spring ol 1782, about the same 
time that Phil White was, and confined in 
Freehold jail, but shortly exchanged for 
Daniel Randolph, Esq, He probably went 
to the British Provinces at the close of the 
war, as mention is made of a certain Clay- 
ton Tilton, a loyalist from New Jersey, 
marrying the widow ot Thomas Green, at 
Musquash, New Brunswick, shortly after 
the war. 

John Warueli., of Shrewsbury, an asso- 
ciate judge of Monmouth, on account of 
his tory proclivities, sought refuge within 
the British lines. His property was con- 
ficated and advertised to be sold at Tin ton 
Falls, March 29th, 1779. He was a neigh- 
bor and warm Iriend ot Captain Ricliaid 
Lippencott. 

Captain Richard Lippencott, the Refu- 
gee who Hanged Captain Huddy. 

This refugee who obtained such unen- 
viable notoriety for hanging Captain Josh- 
ua Huddy, was born in New Jersey in 
1745, and died at Toronto, Canada, in 1826, 
in his 82d year. At the breaking out of 
the war he was a resident of Shrewsbury 
township. Early in that mtmorablestrug- 
gle he left Monmouth and went to New 
York and expressed to the Board of Asso- 
ciated Loyalists a desire for authority to 
raise a company, which was given him by 
the Board upon his signing the usual 
articles requiring him to obey the orders 
of Governor William Franklin, its Presi- 
dent. On account of his activity in the 
Royal service, his property was confiscated 
and advertised to be sold at Tinton Falls, 
March 29th, 1779. He appears to have 
had many relatives among both the pa- 
triots and loyalists. The character he bore 
among tlie adherents of the Royal cause 
is shown by the following extracts Dur- 
ing the Briiish Court Martial trial held in 
New York in June, 1782, to try him for 



50 



OLD TIMES I\ OLD MONMOUTH. 



the murder of Captain .foshua Huddy, 
Colonel John Morris, commander of the 
second battalion of the brigade of New 
Jersey Royal Volunteers, testified as fol- 
lows: 

" He had known the prisoner (Lippen- 
cott) many years ; he always suppoited a 
good cnaracter ever since deponent has 
known him ; and he always endeavored 
to serve the Government all in his power, 
and that with propriety. Deponent has 
never known him guilty of plundt^ring or 
:iny action of that kind." 

Jotin Wardell, late of Shrewsbury town- 
ship, and formerly an associate judge of 
Monmouth, testified that " he had been 
acquainted with Lijjpencotl more than 
•en years : that he was his neighbor and 
was always looked upon as a peaceable, 
inoflensive man.'' 

Rev. Dr. Samuel Cooke, the noted Epis- 
copalian clergyman who settled in Shrews- 
bury in 1751, where he remained until the 
breaking out of the Revolution, and to 
whom reference is made in other chapters, 
at the time of Lippencott's trial was depu- 
ty chaplain to the brigade of guards in the 
British serv'ce ; upon being sworn he 
said : 

" He had not known Lippencott before 
the rebellion, but has been acquainted 
with him upwards of three years since 
Lippencott has been within his Majesty's 
lines. That lie has been particularly ac- 
quainted with him. and has every reason 
to think liis character stood as fair as that 
of any refugee within his Majesty's lines." 

After the Revolution, Lippencott went 
to England to claim compensation for his 
lost-es and services. He obtained the half 
pay of CcXptain for life, and the grant of 
300 acres of land at York, (now Toronto) 
in Canada, upon wuich he settled about 
1794. His only child, Esther Borden 
Lippencott, married George Taylor Den 
nison, and her son, George T. Dennison, 
some twenty odd years ago, was a member 
of the Canadian parliament. Sabine, in 
the first edition of his history of the loyal- 
ists, having made some remarks not very 
complimentary to Captain Lippencott, his 
grandson, George T. Dennison, addressed 
liim a letter in which he endeavored to 
defend the acts "itid character of his grand- 
father. He says : 

" Lippencott was naturally a person of 
the most harmlesn and quiet disposition. 
Philip White was half brother to his wife, 
and Lippencott was exasperated by the 
butchery of an innocent relative (Stephen 



Edwards ? ) who, found on a visit to his 
mother's house, was treated by Huddy as 
a spy. The old man (Lippencott) was re- 
spected by all who knew him in the coun- 
try, rich and poor, and was so well known 
to all old loyalists who settled there, that 
persons came uninvited thirty or forty 
miles to pay tribute to his memory : hun- 
dreds still living will repudiate the unfa- 
vorable character as a man and a siildier 
given him by tlie American historian. — 
He was true to his Sovereign both in prop- 
erty and peril, and nobly maintained the 
Lippencott family motto, " Si'cundus du- 
husque rectus.^' Indeed the trutij is, as I 
have always heard it declared by himself 
and others, ihat he had the autkonty from 
Sir Henry Clinton himsell to hang HudcJy 
in retaliation for White.'' 

As to what Mr. Dennison says in regard 
to the character of Lippencot' aft^^r the 
war, it may be all quite true but it has 
but little to do withtiie hanging ot Huddy 
during the wai. Mr. Dennison is in error 
in saying th^i-t Sir Henry Clinton authoriz- 
ed the execution. On the contrary he 
was so indignant at the act that he at <.nce 
ordered LiiJ|H-ncott to be Court Mai tialed, 
and Sparks, the historian, says tiiat while 
in London, he; saw original letters from 
Sir Henry Clinton and his succ<>ssor, Sir 
Guy Carleton, expressing in the strongest 
terms their indignation at Buddy's mur- 
der. The fact probably is, that Mr. Den- 
nison errs only in the ni.me of the person ; 
it is probable that his grandfather •stated 
that he had the autiiority of his superior 
officer to hang Huddy, and from this Mr. 
D. inferred that this suijerior officer was 
Sir Henry Clinton. Who this superior offi- 
cer really was will be seen by extracts we 
shall hereafter give from official iiiitish 
records, which show quite >:on(;lusivel}' 
how far Lippencott was responsible foithe 
murder of Huddy. It will be seen that 
Lippencott was not the only guilty party ; 
as to whom the most guilt should be at- 
tached may be judgi.d from the evidence 
produced on his trial. 

The New Jersey Royal Vounteeks. 

The following are the names of some of 
the offitiers «f this noted organization, 
composed mainly of Jerseymen, who aid- 
ed the British during the Revolution. — 
The commandini: officer was Cortland 
Skinner, and his brigade was often called 
"Skinner's Greens." The officers and 
men were from different counties, chiefly 
in East Jersey. Most of the Old Mon. 



OLD TIMES IN (3LD MONMOUTH. 



51 



mouth Loyalists joined.the Fiist battalion 
of this brigade. 
Cortland Skinnkr, Brigadiek General. 
First Battalion. 

Elisha Lawrence, Colonel. 

B. G. Skinner, " 1781. 

Stephen Delancej', Lieut. Colonel. 

Thomas Millidge, Major. 

William Hutchinson, Captain. 

Joseph Crowell, " 

Jatnes Moody, Lieutenant. 

John Woodward, " 

James Brittain '' 

Ozias Ausley, Ensign. 

Joseph Brittain, '' 

Second Battalion. 

John Moi'ris, Colonel, Second battalion. 

Isaac Allen, Lieut. Colonel " '• 

Charles Harrison, Captain, " '* 

Thomas Hunlock, " " " 

John Combs, Lieutenant " " 

Third Battalion. 

Abraham Van Buskirk, Lieutenant 
Colonel, Third battalion. 

Robert Timpanv, Major, " " 

PhilipCortiand(N.Y.') '' " 

Jacob Van Buskirk, Capt. '' " 

.lames Servanier, Lieut. " " 

rhilipCortland, Jr., Ensign" " 

John Van Orden, " '• " 

The Ibllowing named were also officers 
in this organization : 

Elisha Skinner, Lieutenant Colonel, 
John Barnes. Major, R. V. Stockton, Ma- 
jor, Thomas Lawrence, Major, John Lee, 
Captain, Peter Campbell, ditto, John Bar- 
bara, ditto, Richard Cayfoid, ditto, Wil- 
liam Chandler, ilitto, Daniel Cozens, ditto, 

Keating, ditto. Lieutenants, Troup 

and Fitz Randolph. Absalom Bainbridge, 
Surgeon. Peter Myer, Ensign. 

Lieutenant James Moouy. 

In the above list of Loyalist officers will 
1)6 noticed the name of .Times Moody, 
Lieutenant in the First Battalion, in which 
were so many former residents of Mon- 
mouth. At the close of the war, Moody 
went to England, and shortly after his ar- 
rival there published a pam[)hlet entitled, 
" Lieutenant James Moody's Narrative of 
his Exertions and Sufferings in the cause 
of the Government since the year 1770; 
authenticate<l bv proper certificates. Lon- 
don, 1783." 

As this publication is rare, we propose 
hereafter to extract the substance which 
will be found to contain many things of 



value to the historian, and of much inter- 
est to the general reader. As a matter of 
course he strives to depreciate the Ameri- 
cans and their cause, and to exalt Tories 
and Toryism to the best of his ability, and 
on this particular account his narrative 
deserves a place in our local history, for 
to obtain a comprehensive view of life and 
times in the Revolution it is necessary to 
look at the causes and effects from a Tory 
stand-point. As during the war all who 
joined the Americans were not Avholly 
good, so all who joined the British were 
not wholly bad, and to one who is curious 
to know what reasons werts offered for 
their course by the more honorable Tories 
and what versions they gave to scenes in 
which they were actors, Lieutenant 
Moody's narrative will have peculiar val- 
ue. His career, it will be seen, furnishes 
exciting incidents sufficient to form the 
grou'.id work for half a dozen modern sen- 
sational novels. He made many raids in- 
to New Jersey, and on one expedition in- 
to Monmouth it was alleged that he caused 
the death of two Monmouth militiaofficers 
under circumstances so contrary to the 
usual rule of warfare, that when, afterward, 
he was captured, he was sentenced to be 
executed, but escaped almost miraculous- 

ly- 

THE FIRST SETTLERS IN OLD MON- 
iMOUTH. 

The Stout Famii,t. 

Indians on the War Path — Firm Stand of 
the Settlers — A League of Peace Never 
Broken. 

Among the first whites who permanent- 
ly settled in old Monmouth, was Richard 
Stout, who, with his own family and five 
other families, it is said, located in Mid- 
dletown in 1648. The history of the Stout 
family, though familiar to those versed in 
the ancient history of our state, yet is so 
remarkable on account of the wonderful 
preservation of the life of Mrs. Stout, and 
of so much general interest because their 
descendants in our county and elsewhere 
are so numerous, and also because this 
family were among the first Baptists in 
New .Jersey, that it will bear rejjeating, 
especially as it may prove new to many of 
our readers. Tlie version of the remarka- 
ble history of Penelope Stout, as given in 
Benedict's History of the Baptists, is the 
one most familiar to our older citizens 



52 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



but believing that many of our readei's 
may wish for preservation both this ver 
sion and the one given in 1765, by Smith 
in his history of New Jersey, we append 
them with additional items from other 
sources. 

The ship in which Penelope came to 
this country was wrecked on the coast of 
Monmouth, some two hundred and fifty 
years ago. The story of her remarkable 
preservation was handed down by tradition, 
in various parts of the state, for a century 
and a half with little variation except that 
some traditionary versions, at one time, 
located the place of the shipwreck on the 
Delaware. 

The following version is the one pub- 
lished by Smith in 1765 : 

'' While New York was in the possession 
of the Dutch, about the time of the Indian 
war in New England, a Dutch shi]"*, com- 
ing from Amsterdam, was stranded on 
Sandy Hook, but the passengers got ashore 
— among them was a young Dutchman 
who hacl been sick most of the voyage ; 
he was so bad "after landing that he could 
not travel, and the other passengers, being 
afraid of the Indians, would not stay until 
he recovered ; his wife, however, would 
not leave him, and the rest promised to 
send for them as soon as they arrived at 
New Amsterdam (New Yotk.) They had 
not been gone long before a company of 
Indians, coming to the water side, discov- 
ered them on the beach, and hastening to 
the spot, soon killed the man and cut and 
mangled the woman in such a manner 
that they left her for dead. She had 
strength enough to crawl to some logs not 
far distant, and getting into a hollow one 
lived within it for several days, subsisting 
in part by eating the excrescences that 
grew from it. The Indians had left some 
fire on the shore, which she kept together 
for the warmth. Having remained in that 
manner for some time, an old Indian and 
a young one coming down to the beach 
found her ; they were soon in high words, 
which she afterwards understood was a 
dispute ; the old Indian was for keeping 
her alive, the other for dispatcliing her. — 
After they had debated the point awhile, 
the oldest Indian hastily took her up and 
tossing her upon his shoulder, carried her 
to a place near where Middletown now 
stands, where he dressed her wounds and 
soon cured her. After some time the Dutch 
at New Amsterdam, hearing of a white 
woman among the Indians, concluded who 
it must bQ, and some of them came to Iier 



relief ; the old man, her preserver, gave 
h'r the ctioice to go or stay ; she chose to 
go. A while after, marrying one Stout, 
they lived together at Middletown among 
other Dutch inhabittints. The old Indian 
wlio saved her life used frequently to visit 
her ; at one of his visits she observed him 
to be more pensive than common, and sit- 
ting down, he gave three heavy sighs ; 
alter the last, she thought herself at liber- 
ty to ask him what was the matter, lie 
told her ho had something to tell her in 
friendship, though at tlie risk of his own 
life, which was that the Indians were that 
night to kill all the whites, and he advised 
her to go to New Amsterdam ; she asked 
him how she could get off? He told her 
he had provided a canoe at a place which 
he named. Being gone from her she sent 
for her husband out of the field, and dis- 
covered the mattei" to him, who, not be- 
lieving it, she told him the old man tiever 
deceived her, and that siie with her children 
would go ; accordingly at the place ap- 
pointed thev found the canoeand paddled 
off. When they were gone, the husband 
began to consider the matter, and sending 
for five or six of his neighbors, they set 
vtpon their guard. About midnight they 
heard the dismal warwhoop; presently 
came up a company of Indians ; they first 
expostulated and then told the Indians if 
they persisted in their bloody designs, they 
would sell their lives very dear. Their 
arguments prevailed, the Indians desisted, 
and entered into a league of i^eace, which 
was kept without violati n. From this 
womar, thus remarkably saved, is descend- 
ed a numerous posterity of the name of 
Stout, now inhabitants of New Jersey. At 
that time there were supposed to be about 
fifty families of white people, antl five 
hundred Indians inhabiting ttiose parts." 

The account of Penelope Stout, as given 
in Benedict's History, is as follows : 

" She was born in Amsterdam, in Hol- 
land, about the year 1602 ; her father's 
name was Vanprincis. She and her first 
husband (whose name is not known) sail- 
ed for New York (then New Amsterdam) 
about the year 1620; the vessel was strand- 
ed at Sandy Hook ; the crew got ashore 
and marched towards New York ; but 
Penelope's (for that was her name) hus- 
band being hurt in the wreck, could not 
march with them ; therefore, he and his 
wife tarried in the woods ; they had not 
been long in the place before the Indians 
killed them both (as they thought) and 
stripped them to the skin ; however, Pen- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MOXMOUTIL 



53 



elope came to, though hei" skull was frac- 
tured an'd her left shoulder so hacked that 
she could never use that arm like the oth- 
er ; she was also cut across the abdomen 
so that her bowels appeared ; these she 
kept in with her hand ; she continued in 
this situation for seven days, ta'? ing shel- 
ter in a hollow tree, and eating the ex- 
crescence of it ; the seventh day she saw 
a deer passing by with arrows sticking in 
it, and soon after two Indians appeared, 
whom she was glad lo see, in hope they 
would put her out of her misery ; accord 
ingly, one made for lier to knock her on 
the head ; but the other, who was an el- 
derly man, prevented him ; and, throwing 
his match coat about her, carried iier to 
his wigAVam and cured her of her wounds 
and bruises ; after that he took her to 
New York and made a present of her to 
her rountrymen, viz : an Indian [)resent, 
expecting ten times the value in return.— 
It vv^s in New York that one Richard 
Stout mariied her ; lie was a native of 
England, and of good family: she was now 
in her 22!id year, and he in his40''h. !She 
bore him seven sons and thrf>o daughters, 
viz : Jr'nathan, John, Richard, James, 
Peter, David, Benjamin, Mary, Sarah and 
Alice ; the daughters married into the 
families of the Bound?, Pikes, Throck- 
mortons and Skeltons, and so lost the 
name of Stout ; the sons inarrird into the 
familiesofBullen, Crawford, Ashton.Truax, 
!ic., and had many children. Themother 
lived to the age of 110, and saw her oft- 
spri-g multipli d into 502 in about 88 
years.'" 

Richard Stout, who married Penelope, 
w.^s the son of John Stout, of Nottingham- 
shire, in Eogland. His father interfered 
in a love affair with a young woman be- 
neath his rank, so he got angry and went 
to sea in a man of war, and served seven 
years. He was discharged at New York 
(then "New Amsterdam) and lived tliere 
some years, when he fell in with the Dutch 
widow, whoia he afterwards married. 



INDIAN CLAIMS IN OLD MON- 
MOUTH AND VICINITY. 

Confeience of Whites and Indians — Des- 
cription of last lands claimed by Indians 
— Names of leading Indians — Indians 
satisfactorily paid for all their land — 
Our ancesters as " doers ofjustice." 
The last lands in Old Monmouth claimed 
by the Indians were described in certain 
p ipers, powers of attorney, (fee, presented 



to a conference between the whites and 
Indians held at Crosswicks, N, J., in Feb 
ruary, 1758. For several years previou.s 
the Indians had expressed much dissatis- 
faction because they hud not received pay 
for several tracts of land, some of them of 
considerable ext'^nt in this and other 
counties. When the ill feeling of the In- 
dians became apparent, the Legislature 
appointed commissioners to examine-into 
the causes of dissatisfaction. Several con- 
ferences were held at Crosswicl<s. Burling- 
ton, Easton, Pa., &c. At the second con- 
ference at Crosswicks the commissioners 
on the part of the state were Andrew 
Johnson and Richard Salter, of the Coun- 
cil, and Charles Read, John Stevens, Wil- 
iam Foster and Jacob Spicer. 

The Indians were Teedyescunk, king of 
the Delavvares ; George Hopaycock, of the 
Susquehannas ; Andrew Wciolley, George 
Wheelwright. Peepy, Joseph Cuish, Wil- 
liam Lonlax, Gabriel Mitop, Zeb Conchee, 
Bill Nevvs, John Pembolus, of the Cross- 
wick Indians ; Moses Totsimy and Philip 
of the Movmtain Indians; Tom Evans, of 
the Rarilans ; Robert Kekott, Jabob 
Mullis, Samuel Gosling of the Rancocus 
Indians ; Thomas Store, Stephen Calviri, 
John Pompsliire, Benjamin Gh'.us, Joseph 
Woolley, Josiah Store, Isaac Still, James 
Calvin, Peter Calvin, Derrick Quaquay, 
Ebenezer Woolley, Sarah Store, widow of 
Quaquahela of the Cranbury Indians ; 
Abraham Lacques, Isaac Swanelea, South- 
ern Indians. 

John Porapshire acted as interpreter. 

The Indians informed the Commissioners 
that the lands they claimed could not by 
them be described by lines very intelligi- 
ble to persons not on the spot, as they 
went to hollows and small brooks which 
had no certain names, but that they had 
described them as well as they could, and 
they delivered lists of the tracts they es- 
teemed unpurshased.as follows: 

No. 1. A power of at'.orney from Ca- 
poose and Telamen, to Moses Totamy, dated 
I January 30lh, 1743-4, for lands 'on the 
south and fouihvvest side of the south 
branch of the Raritan river, joining there- 
to, as explained by said power. 

No. 2. A paper declarinti ilie lands 
from the half wav, from the mouth of 
Motetecunk to Toms River, from the heads 
of the rivers, belong to Captain John, 
Totamy Willockins; and from John 
Eastels (Estells?) to Hookanetcunk on 
Crosswicks ; then on a straight course to 
Mount Holly and so up Rancocus creek 



54 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



and along the said creek to Jarvis Pharo's 
mill and so lo the sea. Pompshire and Ste- 
phen Calvin say they are concerned in the 
tract. 

No. 3. A power of attorney to Twtamy 
and Captain John, dated February 21st, 
1747, from Tawlayenum, Tohokenum, 
(jrooteleck, to sell lauds in Egg Harbor be- 
tween Mount Holly and Crosswieks. 

'fhey have a tract of land beginning at 
the Old Ford by John Fowler's; then in 
a line to Doctor's Creek, above but in sight 
of Allentown ; then up the creek to the 
lower end of Irnlaystown ; then in a line 
to Cros.ewicks creek by Duke Horseman's; 
then along said creek to the place of 
beginning. Teedyscung an<l Totamy are 
concerned in the above lands. 

Then they said that from the mouth of 
Squan to No. 2, belongs to Sarah Store, 
to whom it was given by her husband, to 
the heads of the branches, and so across 
from one branch to the other. 

Tom Store and Andrew WooUey, claim 
a tract beetween Cranbury and Devil's 
Brook, possessed by Josiah Davidson'ssons 
that has two new houses built thereon, in 
which is included the whole tract of the 
late President Hamilton probably John 
Hamilton, governor from 1736 ^o 1738) ; and 
also Mr. Alexander's surveys where Thomas 
Sowden lives ; he has sold part of this 
aract to Holiinshead where McGee lives; 
also has sold some to Josiah Davidson, to 
Doore Marlet, John Wetherill and Jarans 
Wilson. He claims lands from Cranbury 
brook to trie cross roads lying on the 
right hand of the road, and is claimed by 
William Pidgeon ; James Wall and John 
Story live upon one corner of it. They 
also claim from the mouth of Squan to 
the mouth of Shrewsbury, by the streams 
of each to their heads and across from one 
head to another. Also Vannole's place on 
the west si<le of Squan river. Also a piece 
at Topauemus bridge; in this piece Ben 
Claus is concerned. 

Tom Store and Andrew WooUey, also 
claim a piece on the north aide of South 
River — Polly Ritchies place. 

Also a piece between Allentown and 
Millstone brook, where Hockan Gapee 
used to live, joining on the east side of the 
post road to Aniboy, part of Dunstan's 
tract. 

Also Vance's place, adjoining Millstone 
brook, on Amboy road, part of Fullerton's 
tract. 



Also a swamp near Gawen Watson's 
place, belonging to llie Johnston -families 
and the Furmans. 

Jacob MuUis claims pine lands oa Edge 
Pillock Branch and Goshen Neck 
Branch, where Benjamin .Springer and 
George Marpole"s mills stands and all 
the lands between the head branches of 
those creeks to whv-ne the waters join or 
meet. 

The Indiai.;s in gtmeral, claim their 
settlements near Cianbury on Menolapan 
river, near Falkner's tract, whereon many 
Indians now live. Also a few acres below 
the plantation of Robert Pearson's, on the 
North side of Crosswieks creek. 

Hiiving delivered these claims to the 
Commissioners, the Indians present ex- 
ecuted a power of attorney to Tom Store, 
Moses Totamy, Stephen Calviw, Isaac Still 
and John Pompshire, or the major part of 
tliem, to transact all future business with 
the state government respecting lands. 

In 1757 the government had appro- 
priated £1,600 to purchase a release of 
Inciian claims; one lialf to be laid out in 
purchasing a settlement for the Indians 
on the south side of 'he Raritan, whereon 
they might reside ; the other lialf to pur- 
chase latent claims of back Indian^ not 
resident in the province. At the confer- 
ence at Eastoii, in Oclober, 1758, it was 
decided to purchase a tract of land in 
Evesham township, Burlington, containing 
over 3,000 acres, for the Indians to locate 
upon. There was there a saw mill and 
cedar swamp and satisfactory hunting 
ground. The Indians soon removed to 
this reservation, named Brotherton ; in 
removing their buildings tliey were assist- 
ed by government. A house of worship 
and several dwellings were soon put up. 

In 1765, it is said, there were about sixty 
persons settled there. 

The remn;int of these Indians sold out 
the tract and left the slate in 1802, as 
elsewhere described. We believe they 
left behind a lot of half breeds, who al'io 
left the state some thirty years later. 

HOW THE BRITISH REWARDED 
THE TORIES. 

Dazzling Promises and liovv they were ful 
filled — Loyalists die broken hearted. 
The following is from the Albany States- 
man, Sept. 1820: 

By the following extract from the pro- 
ceedings of the British House ofCommons 
June 19th, 1820, it will be seen that the 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



bh 



Tories of the Revolution were but poorly 
rewarded for their loyalty to England and 
their base desertion of their own country. 
It seems the most fortunate of them re- 
ceived but seven shillings in the pound, of 
what had been promised them, as a re- 
muneration for their losses and treason- 
able services. The conduct of the British 
government towards these miserable be 
ings v>'ho were dazzled with promises and 
anticipations of princely wealth and 
princely honors, furnishes a monitory les- 
son of the wretched fate of the traitor. 
Many of them, it is said, died oj broken hearts 
conscious of their own degradation, ne- 
glected and despised by those they had 
served, and treated with scorn and re- 
proach by their own countrymen. How 
different was their lot from that of the 
revolutionary patriot and soldier, who was 
true to his country and whose motto was 
'• Liberty or Death."' 

American Loyalists. 

A. vote of £9, 000 was proposed for Amer- 
ican Loyylists. 

Mr. Hume asked the Chancellor of the 
Exchequer whether government meant to 
take into consideration the claims of those 
loyalists who had been resident in Ameri- 
ca at the breaking out of the war, and 
who had been assured by their govern- 
ment that any losses they might sustain, 
would be made good by this country ? 
Whereas in violation of the public faith 
they never had been remunerated. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer ad- 
mitted that the people alluded to were a 
most ineriiorioMS and unfortunate class of men, 
but on the other liand, if the claims of in- 
dividuals loere to he listened to by his majes- 
ty's ministers, a dangerous precedent 
would be established and a door opened 
for their endlesss repetition. 

Mr. Courtney observed that this claim 
stood on tlie plighted faith of the country. 
His conviction was, their case was quite 
diflferent from that of all other claimants, 
and was, at least, entitled to tlie serious 
consideration of i)arliament — [Hear.) 

Mr. Williams added his testimony to 
that of the last speaker. It was consider- 
ably moie than thirty years since the 
claims accrued. Three fourths of the 
claimants were dead, and many of them 
of broken hearts. 

Mr. Lockhart said that the American 
loyalists had never received any compen- 
i^ation for their losses. It was the mer- 
chants trading to America who consented 



to accept of £500,000 to b© distributed 
amongst them by commissioners ; and 
when the resident loyalists ajjplied to the 
courts in America, they were met with 
the plea of being attainted persons and 
traitors to their counting. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said 
the individuals in question had received 
their fair proportion of the £500,000 from 
the commissioners. 

Mr. J. Smith said that they had receiv- 
ed but seven or eight shillings in the pound of 
their reduced debt or claim. 

The resolution was postponed to the 
following week. 

EPISCOPALIANISM IN OLD MON- 
MOUTH. 

Pioneers of the Society. — Rev. Messrs. 
Keith, Talbot and Inness — First Converts 
to the Protestant Episcopal Church — 
One Hundred and Seven*y Years Ago. 
The most noted among the first clergy- 
men of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
who held services in the county, was the 
celebrated Rev. George Keith, an outline 
of whose life has been given in an other chap- 
ter. When he first located at Freehold 
he was an active member of the Society of 
Friends, as it would seem were others of 
the first settlers. He left Freehold in 
1689 and went to reside in Philadelphia. — 
In 1694 he went to London and soon after 
abjured the doctrines of the Quakers, and 
became a zealous clergyman of the Church 
of England. He officiated some time in 
his mother country, and in 1702 he was 
sent to America as a missionary o? the 
" Society tor the Propagation of the Gos- 
pel in Foreign Parts." He sailed from 
England April 28, 1702, in the ship Cen- 
turian bound for Boston. After his arri- 
val he travelled and preached in various 
parts of New England and New York, ac- 
companied and assisted by the Rev. John 
Talbot, who had been cliaplain of the ship, 
and who, a few years later, located at Bur- 
lington, JN. .[., in charge of the Protestant 
Episcopal Society there. Mr. Keith ar- 
rived at Amboy, and preached his first ser- 
mon in NeAv Jersey in that place, October 
3d, 1702. He saysthatamongthetiudience 
were some old acquaintances, and some 
had been Quakers but were come over to 
the church, particularly Miles Forster and 
John Barclay (brother to Robert Barclay, 
who published the " Ajjology for Quakers."' ) 
After stopping a few days with Miles For- 
ster, he left for Monmouth county, where 



56 



OLD TIMES I^[ OLD MONMOUTH. 



he i^reached his first sermon, October 10, 
1702. Of his tr.avels and services in Mon- 
mouth we give his own account from his rare 
and curious Httle work entitled " A Jour- 
nal of Travel from New Hampshire to Car- 
atuck, on the Continent of America, by 
George Keith, A. M., late Missionary from 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- 
pel in Foreign Parts, and now Rector of 
Edburton, in Sussex. London : printed by 
Joseph Downing, for Brab. Aylmer at the 
Three Pigeons over against the Royal Ex- 
change, Cornhill, 1706."' 

It will be noticed that he speaks of the 
Quakers at Freehold holding meetings 
separate from other Quakers. The cause 
of this separation is explained in the chap- 
ter giving an outline of his life. 

01 his visit to Monmouth he says : 

October 10, 1702.— We went to the 
meeting of the Quakers at loponcmes in 
Freehold in East Jersey, who used to keep 
a separate meeting from the other Quakers 
for their gross errors and joined witli me 
and my friends in the separation about 
1692 ; and it happened to be their yearly 
meeting where divers came from West 
Jei"sey and Pennsylvania. One of their 
preachers prayed and preached before I 
began. After he had done, I used some 
Church Collects 1 bad by heart, in Prayer; 
and after that I preached on Heb. 5 : 9.^ 
There was a considerable auditory of di- 
vers sort*, some of the Cliurch, and some 
Presbyterians, besides Quakers. They 
heard me without interruption and the 
meeting ended peaceably. Their two 
speakers lodged in the same house with 
me that evening at the house of Thomas 
Boels, formerly a Quaker but now of the 
church. I had some free discourse with 
them about several weighty things. 1 told 
them so far as they used their gifts to in- 
struct the ignorant and reclaim the vile 
errors of Quakerism, they were to be com- 
mended ; but that they had taken upon 
them to administer baptism and the Lord's 
Supper to any, they were greatly to be 
blamed, having no due ciill or ordination 
so to do. 

We met again next day and after that 
I pi'ayed, using the same Collects as the 
day before and preached on 1st Thes. 5 : 9 
without any interruption, and the meeting 
peaceably ended. 1 could blame nothing 
in the matter of the second speaker, nor 
in the former, except where he said m his 
discourse " That they who were in Chrisi,need 
not fear IJcliy I endeavored to clear the 
matter in my discourse by distinguishing 



between an absolute fear of hell, such as 
wicked men ought to have and a condi- 
tional fear which good men, even such 
who are in Cin'ist, ought to have ; and 
about this he and I had some private dis- 
course also betwixt u.'^^, but he wasdissatis 
fied and would not own that any who werein 
Christ, ought to have any les? of hell, so much 
as conditional. 

Sunday, October 17th, 1702. I preached 
at Middletown in East Jersej', where be- 
fa)re sermon Mr. Talbot read the Church 
Prayers, and I preached on Matt. 28: 19,20. 
One main part of my sermon being to 
prove Infant baptism to be included in the 
Apostle's commission as well as that of 
adult persons, their being several of the 
audience who were Anfibapiists, who heard 
me civilly vvithout interruption ; but most 
of the .<iuditory were Church people orwoli 
affected to the Church. 

October 24th, 1702. I preached atShrews- 
bury at a houKC near the Quaker Meeting 
House, and it happened it was the time of 
the Quaker Yearly Meeting at Shrewsbury. 
My text was 2d Peter, 2:1,2. Th«ChurcIi 
Prayers being read before sermon, we liad 
a great congregation, generally well affect- 
ed to the Church, and divers of them were 
of the Church, and that day I sent some 
lines in writing to the QuaReis at their 
Yearly Meeting ; which Mr. Talbot did 
read to them in their meeting, wherein I 
desired them to give me a meeting with 
them some day of that week before their 
meethig was concluded; in which meeting 
1 offered to detect great eri'ors in their 
Author's books, and they should have full 
liberty to answer what they had to say in 
their vindication. But they altogether le- 
fused my proposition, and several papers 
l)assed betwixt us. In some of their pa- 
pers they used gross reflections on the 
Church of England as much as on me. — 
We continued our meeting three days, as 
the Quakers did theirs. And the second 
day of our meeting at the . same house, 
where we had formerly met, I detected 
Quaker errors out of their printed books, 
particularly out of the Folio Book of Ed- 
ivard Burrou(jh''s Works^ collected and pub 
lished by the Quakers after his death, and 
did read (juotations to tiie Auditory, lay- 
ing the pages optn before such as wore 
willing to read them for their better satis- 
faction, as some did read them. 

(Mr. Keith here quotes what he consid- 
ers some of their errors.) 

October 26th. I preached again at 
Shrewsbury, on Matt. 7 : 13. In these 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



57 



meetings in Shrewsbury, Middletown and 
Topsnemes, or where else in the Nethesiuks 
(Nevisinks) Mr. Louis Morris and divers 
others of the besl note in that county, fre- 
quented the congregations and places 
where we preaclied and did kindly enter- 
tain us at their houses where we lodged as 
we travelled too and again, particularly at 
Mr. Morris, Mr. Inness, Mr, Johnson, Mr. 
Boels and Mr. Read. Mr. Inness being in 
Priest's orders often preached among them 
and by preaching and conferences frequent- 
ly with the (Quakers and other sorts of peo- 
ple, as also by his pious conveisation, has 
done much good among them and been 
very instrumental to draw them off from 
their errors and bring them over to the 
Church. 

Mr. Keith left Monmouth about the last 
of October, 1702, for Burlington and else- 
where. He returned in December, and 
says : 

December 20th, 1702. I preached at 
Dr. Johnstons at Nethersinks, on Rev. 
22:14. 

Dec. 25th, Friday, being Christmas. I 
preached at the house of Mr. Morris, on 
Luke 21.10, 11. iVud after sermon divers 
of the auditoiy received with us the Holy 
sacrament ; both Mr. Morris and his wife, 
and divers others. Mr. Talbot did admin- 
ister it. 

December 27th, Sunday. I preached at 
Shrewsbury Town, near the Quaker Meet- 
ing House, at a Planter's house, and had 
a considerable auditory of Church people, 
lately converted from Quakerism, with 
divers others of the Church of best note in 
that part of the country. My text was 
Heb. 8.10, 11. 

January 1st, 1703, Friday. I preached 
at the house of Thomas Boels, in Freehold, 
in East Jersey. My text was Isaiah 59.20, 
21. Before sermon, after the Church 
Prayers, I baptized all his children, two 
sons and three daugliiers. He was for- 
merly a Quaker, but is now come over to 
the Church ; also a son of Samuel Dennis, 
a late convert from Quakerism. 

Jan. 3d, 1703. I preached again at his 
house on the sanie text, and before sermon 
Mr. Talbot baptized two persons belonging 
to the family of John Read, formerly a 
Quaker, but was lately come over to the 
Cnurcli, with all his children, one son and 
two daughters. His two daughters were 
baptized by Mr. Talbot, October 20th, 
1702 ; as also the same day was baptized 
William Leads (Leeds?), and his sister 
Mary Leads, late converts from Quakerism 



to the Church. And some days before at 
the house of John Read, Mr. Talbot .bap- 
tized the wife of Alexander Neaper and 
his three children. Both he and his wife 
had been Quakers, but were come over to 
the Church. 

January 4th, 1703. I came to the house 
of Robert Ray, in Freehold, in East Jer- 
sey, accompanied with Thomas Boels, and 
lodged at his house that night. At his 
and his wife's desire, I baptized all his 
children, some boys and some girls, in 
number five. His wife is come over to the 
Church, but he was not then come thor- 
oughly out of Quakerism. 

Mr. Keith after this proceeded to Bur- 
lington, Philadelphia, and so on to Mary- 
land, Virginia, and elsewhere ; in October, 
1703, he returned to Monmouth, and of 
his services here he adds in his journal 
the following ; 

" October 10th, 1703, Sunday. I preach- 
ed at Toponemes, in Freehold, in East Jer- 
sey, on Acts 24:12, and had considerable 
auditory, divers of them late converts from 
Quakerism to the Church. Mr. Inness 
above mentioned, did read the Prayers. — 
Mr. Talbot stayed to preach in several 
places in Pennsylvania and West Jersey 
tor some time. 

October 17th. I preached at Shrews- 
bury, near the Quaker Meeting House 
there, on Psalms 103 : 17, 18. 

October 24th. I preached again there, 
on Heb. 8 : 10, 11, and Mr. Inness baptized 
two men and a child. 

On the 31st of October, Mr. Keith 
preached at Amboy, after which he pro- 
ceeded to New York and New England. 
On tiis return he says : 

January 9th, 1704. I preached at the 
house of Dr. Johnston, in Neverthesinks, 
on Psalms 119 : 5, 113, and had consider- 
able auditory. 

January 16th. I preached at Mr. Mor- 
ris's house at the Falls of Shrewsbury, in 
East Jersey, on 2 Cor. 5 : 17. 

January 23d. I preached again at Mr. 
Morris's house, on 2 Peter 1 : 5. 

January 30th. I preached at the house 
of Mr. Thomas Boels, in Freehold, in East 
Jersey, - n 1 Cor.^15 : 58. 

February 6th. I preached at the house 
of Mr. John Read, in Freehold, East Jer- 
sey, on Psalms 119 : 96. 

After this Mr. Keith went to Burlington, 
Philadelphia, and shortly sailed for Eng- 
land. 



58 



OLD TLMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



LIEUT, JAMES MOODY, THE KEFU- 
GEE PARTISAN. 



A Daring Renegade — Raid in Monmouth 
— Refugee Versions and Boasts — Death 
of Captain Chadwick and Lieutenant 
Hendrickson. 

In the days of the Revohition, about the 
most shrewd and effective partisan leader 
in New Jersey, was James Moody. During 
the war we do not believe there was a sin- 
gle other Tory who was more noted 
througout the State for his daring opera- 
ations, than was he, and yet it is rare to 
find his name in any general or local his- 
tory of New Jersey. 

In Howe's Historical Collections of New 
Jersey, mention is made of a certain refu- 
gee, said to have been named Bonnell 
Moody, as having been active against the 
whigs in Sussex county. We very much 
doubt if ever there was a prominent refu- 
gee of that name in our State ; we have 
no doubt but James Mooiy was the man 
referred to ; certain it is that some of the 
deeds attributed to Bonnell Moody were 
performed by James Moody. An interest- 
ing account of James Moody's career in 
New Jersey, was published shortly after 
the war in London ; though dictated by 
himself, and consequently more or less 
one sided, yet it contains many things of 
value to the historian and of interest to 
the general reader. At some future time 
we shall endeavor to give place to the sub- 
stance of his narrative with the high 
British endorsements it obtained, but for 
the present we can only copy the substance 
of so much of it as relates to one of his 
raids in Monmouth. It will be seen that 
where he strives to depreciate Americans 
and laud the Tories to the best of his abil- 
ity, yet he mentions some things worth 
recording in our local history. 

" June 10th, 1779, Lieutenant James 
Moody requested a Tory friend named 
Hutchinson, with six men and some guides, 
to join him in a raid into Monmouth. — 
Moody had besides sixteen men. 'J'hey 
started from Sandy Hook ior Shrewsbury, 
and managed to elude the Rebel guard, 
and gained a place called tJie Falls (Tinton 
Falls.) There tliey surprised and took 
prisoners one Colonel, one Lieutenant 
Colonel, one Major and two Captains, with 
several other i)risoners of lesser note, and 
without injury to private property, de- 
stroying a considerable magiizine of pow- 



der and arms. With these prisoners and 
such public stores as they were able to 
bring off, Mr. Hutchinson was charged, 
whilst Moody brought up the rear with 
his sixteen men to defend them. They 
were as they expected, soon pursued by 
double their n ember and soon overtaken. 
Moody kept up a smart fire on his assail- 
ants, checkin^!; and retarding them till 
Hutchinson with his booty had got ahead 
to a considerable distance. He then also 
advanced for the next advantngeous posi- 
tion, and thus proceeded from one good 
spot to another, still covering the prison- 
ers till they gained a situation on the 
shore at Black Point where the enemy 
could not flank him. But just at this time 
the enemy was reinforced by ten men, so 
they were near forty strong. Hutchinson 
with one man crossed the inlet, behind 
wliich he had taken shelter, and came to 
Moody's assistance ; and now a warm en- 
gagement ensued which lasted three quar- 
ters of an hour. By this time all their 
ammunition, amounting to 80 rounds was 
exhausted, and ten men, only three of 
whom were wounded, were in any capaci- 
ty to follow a charge. 

"The bayonet wasMoody's only resource, 
and this the enemy could not withstand ; 
they fled, leaving eleven of their number 
killed or wounded. Unfortunately for 
Moody, his small but gallant party could 
not follow up the blow, being in a manner 
utterly exhausted by a long harassed 
march in hot weather. They found the 
rebel Captain dead, and their Lieutenant 
also exi^iring on th© field. There was 
something peculiarly shocking and awful 
in the death of the rebel captain. He was 
shot by Moody whilst with the most bitter 
oaths and threats of vengeance, after hav- 
ing missed fire once, he was again leveling 
his piece at him. Soon after the engage- 
ment, one of the rebels came forward with 
a handkerchief on a stick, and demanded 
a parley. His signal was returned and a 
truce agreed upon, the conditions of which 
were, that they should have leave to take 
care of their dead and wounded, while 
Moody and his party were permitted to 
return unmolested to the Biitish lines. — 
None of Moody's men were mortally 
wounded. The public stores which they 
brought qway, besides those destroyed, 
sold far upwards of £500, every shilling of 
which was given by Moody to his men, as 
a rewartl for meritorious." 

From a subsequent paragraph in Moody's 
narrative, it appears that the names of the 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



59 



officers killed were Captain Chadwick and 
. Lieutenant Hendrickson. 

Moody was afterwards captured by the 
Americans, and was to liave been hung 
for the murder of Captain Chadwick, but 
he managed almost miraculously to escape. 

Some circumstances mentioned in dif- 
ferent accounts of this raid, lead to a sus- 
picion that Moody placed Captain Chad- 
wick and Lieutenant Hyndrickson in the 
rear of their company to prevent the firing 
or the Americans upon them, and that 
Chadwick and Hendrickson were shot in 
attempting to escape or after escaping. 

The following is an American version of 
this raid from an ancient paper : 

" A party of about fifty refugees landed 
in Monmouth and marched to 'llnton 
Falls undiscovered, where they surprised 
and carried off Colonel Hendrickson, Col- 
onel Wyckotf', Captain ChadwicK and Cap- 
tain McKnight, witli several privates of 
the militia, and drove off sheep and horned 
cattle. AHout thirty of our militia hastily 
collected and made some resistance, but 
were repulsed with the loss of two men 
killed, and ten wountled, the loss of the 
enemy unknown." 

Moody's Capture and Escape. 

The following is Moody's own account 
of his capture, imprisonment for the kill- 
ing of Captain Chadwick and Lieutenant 
Hendrickson, and escape. After referring 
to a raid in which he had been engaged, 
liis narrative states that while he was re 
tracing his steps witli thirteen men to- 
wards New York, on the 21st of July, 
1780, Moody and llie greater part of his 
men fell into the hands of General Wayne, 
much to tlie joy of his captors, and to the 
whigs of New Jersey. •' Moody is in tlie 
toils at last," was the word far and near. 
He was first sent to a place called the 
Slote, thence to Stony Point, thence to 
West Point, thence to Esopus, and thence 
brick to West Point. Arnold who was 
then plotting to surrender the latter post, 
treated Moody with absolute barbarity, 
for by his order he was placed in a dun- 
geon excavated in a rock, the bottom of 
which was ankle deep in water, mud and 
filth. In this dismal hole the wretched 
prisoner was fettered hand and foot, and 
compelled to sleep on a door raised on 
four stones above the disgusting mixtuie 
and proffered food at which he revolted 
which was brought to him in a wooden 
bowl that was never washed, and that whs 
encrusted with dougli, dirt and grease. — 



I The irons upon his wrists were ragged on 
the inner side and caused sores which gave 
him great pain, while his legs became ir- 
ritated and swollen. He implored Arnold 
for relief, declaring that he preferred 
death to sufferings so intense. Some days 
after his second petition to be treated as 
a prisoner of war, an officer came into his 
prison and asked, "are you Moody, whose 
name is a terror to all good men ?" Wlien 
answered, the officer pointed to a gallows 
near by, and said : "A swing upon that 
you have long merited." Moody replied 
thai he hoped to live to see him and a 
' thousand other villains like him hanged 
for being rebels. The fetters were exam- 
ined but not removed. His case was at 
last reported to General Washington, who 
ordered the irons to be taken oft", and the 
serving of wholesome provisions, with 
' leave to purchase milk, vegetables, &c. — 
' Soon the prisoner was transferred to the 
: Chief's own camp, where the Adjutant 
I General examined his limbs and shocked 
at their condition, gave instant orders for 
humane treatment. While Moody was re- 
covering he felt himself much ac ease, ex- 
pecting soon to be exchanged, when he 
WMs unexpectedly told that in two day?, by 
order of Dr. Livingston, he was to be 
brought to trial ; the court-martial was to 
be composed of picked men, and that 
Moody was sure of conviction — that he 
was charged with assassinating a Captain 
Chadwick, and a Lieut. Hendrickson. — 
These were the two officers who had fall- 
en fairly in battle, near Black Point, in 
Monmouth county, as elsewhere related. 
The Ensign replied that lie felt himself 
much at ease on that account, as it could 
be sufficiently cleared up by their own 
people who had been in and survived the 
action, as well as by some of their officers, 
who were at that time prisoners. He was 
told that this would oe of little avail, as he 
had been so obnoxious to the whiys, and 
besides he had enlisted men in the State 
for the King's service, and this, by their 
laws, was death. 

Moody says he affected an air of uncon- 
cern at this information, but at the same 
time he believed it was too serious and 
important to him to disregard. He re- 
solved therefore, from that moment, to 
escape or perish in the attempt. His place 
of confinement was near the centre of the 
rtbelcamjj. A sentinel was placed with- 
in the doors of his prison, and another 
without, besides four others close around 
and witliin a few yards of the place. Tiie 



60 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTPI. 



time now came on when he must either 
make his attempt or forever lose the op- 
portunity. On the night of September 
17th, busy in ruminating on his project, 
he had under pretence of being cold, got 
a watch coat thrown across his shoulders, 
tha+ he might better conceal from his un- 
pleasant companion the ojierations he 
meditated against his hand cuffs. While 
he was racking his invention to find some 
possible means of extricating himself from 
his fetters, he happened to cast his eye on 
a post fastened to the ground, through 
which a hole had been bored by an auger, 
and it occurred to him that it might be 
possible, with the aid of this hoi?, to break 
the bolt of his hand cuffs. Watching the 
opportunity therefore from time to time 
of the sentinel's looking another way, he 
thrust the point of the bolt into the above 
mentioned hole, and by cautiously exert- 
ing his strength and gradually bending 
the iron backwards and forwards he at 
length broke it. Let the reader imagine 
what his sensations were when he found 
the manacles drop from his hands. He 
sprang instantly past the inside sentinel, 
and rushing on the next, with one hand 
he seized his musket, and with the other 
struck him to the ground. The sentinel 
within and the four others who had been 
placed by the fence surrounding the place 
of his confinement, immediately gave the 
alarm, and in a moment the cry was gen- 
eral, "Moody is escaped from the provost!*' 
It is impossible to describe the uj^roar 
which now took place throughout the 
camp. In a few minutes every man was in 
a bustle, every man was looking for Moo- 
dy, and multitudes passed by him on all 
sides — little suspecting that the man they 
saw deliberately marching along with a 
musket on his shoulder, could be the fugi- 
tive they were in quest of. The darkness 
of the night which was also blustering and 
drizzly, prevented any discrimination of 
his person, and was indeed the great cir- 
cumstance that rendered his escape possi- 
ble. But no small difficulty still remained 
to be surmounted. To i:)revent desertion, 
which at that time was very frequent, 
Washington had surrounded his camp 
with a cliain of sentinels, posted at about 
forty or fifty yards from each other ; Moo- 
dy was unacquainted with their stations ; 
to pass there undiscovered would certain- 
ly'be i'atal. In this dilemna Providence 
again befriended him. He had gained 
their station without knowing it, when 
luckily h® heard their watchword, "Look 



sharj) to the chain — Moody is escaj^ed 
from tlie Provost." From the sound of ■ 
their voices he ascertained the resj^ective 
situations of the sentinels, and throwing 
himself on his hands and knees, he was 
happy enough to crawl through the vacant 
space between two of them, unseen by 
either. Judging that their line ofqursuit 
would be towards the British army, he 
made a detour into the woods on the op- 
posite side. Through the woods he made 
his way with as much sijeed as the dark- 
ness of the night would permit, steering 
his course alter the Indian manner by oc- 
casional groping and feeling the white 
oak ; on the south side thfi bark of this 
tree is rough and unpleasant to the touch, 
but on the north side is smooth ; hence it 
serves the sagacious traveller of the woods 
by night as well as by day, for his compass. 
Through the dismal woods and swamps he 
wandered until the night of the 21st, a 
space of 56 hours, during which time he 
had no other sustenance than a few beach 
leaves, ( which of all the woods afforded, 
were the least unpleasant to the taste, and 
least pernicious to the health ), which he 
chewecf and swallowed to abate the craA'- 
ings of hunger. In every inhabited dis- 
trict he knew there were friends of the 
British, and he had learned where and 
how to find them our, without endanger- 
ing their safety, which was always the first 
object of his concern. From some of their 
ffood men he received minute information 
how the pursuit was directed, and where 
every guard was posted. Thus assisted he 
eluded tiieir keenest vigilance, and at 
length by God's blessings, to his unspeak- 
able joy, he arrived safe at Paulus Hook 
( Jersey City )." 



PHIL WHITE, HIB CAPTURE AND 
DEATH. 

A correct version of the affair — Refugee 
slanders refuted and vindicated— .affi- 
davits of Aaron White and of Philip 
White, guards — Statement of Gtneral 
Forman, &c. 

Though the death of the refugee Philip 
White, generally called Phil White, is oc- 
casionally referred to in modern historical 
works, there are none which give complete 
or correct accounts of the atfair. In the 
brief statement given in Howe's Collec- 
tions unjust imputations are cast upon 
his guard, as will hereafter be seen. When 
Captain Iluddy was so brutally murdered 
by the Refugees near th« Highlands, it 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



61 



will be remembered that a label was fast- 
ened to his breast, the last sentence of 
which was 

Up goes Hxiddy for Philip White. 

Though the Kefugees atone time assert- 
ed that Captain Huddy had an agency in 
the death of Phil White, yet this prepos- 
terous charge was at once shown to be an 
infamous falsehood, as when White was 
killed, Captain Huddy was a prisoner, con- 
fined in New YorK in the old Sugar House 
( Duane's sugar house.) The British as- 
serted that *' he had taken a certain Philip 
White, cut off both his arms, broke his 
legs, pulled out one of his eyes, damned 
him and then bid him run.'' 

How much of this was true will be seen 
by the conclusive evidence hereafter given, 
before quoting which we will copy the 
version of the affair given in Howe's (Jol- 
lections, derived in 1842, from a tradition- 
ary source : 

" White, the Refugee, was a carpenter 
and served his time in Shrewsbury. Six 
days after Huddy was taken, he was sur- 
prised by a party of militia light-horse, 
near Snag Swamp, in the eastern part of 
the township. After laying down his arms 
in token of surrender, he took up his 
musket and killed a Mr. Hendrickson. — 
He was however, secured, and while being 
taken to Freehold, was killed at Pyle's 
Corner, thiee or four miles from there. — 
He was under a guard of three men, the 
father of one of whom was murdered at 
Shrewsbury the year previous, by a band 
of refugees, among whom was White, and 
he was therefore highly exasperated 
against the prisoner. Some accounts state 
that he was killed while attempting to 
escape ; others with mure probability that 
they pricked him with their swords and 
thus forcing him to run, cruelly murdered 
him." 

There are several errors in the foregoing 
and it is to be regretted that the untrue 
charge of wanton cruelty, should have 
found its way into so use:ul a book. Cor- 
rect versions of this affair are found in an- 
cient pajiers, but for the present we will 
give several affidavits taken at the time as 
being tfie most conclusive evidence. Tliese 
affidavits were forwarded to General 
Washington, and by him transmitted to 
Congress, April 20th, 1782. 

Thess affidavits are of Aaron White, 
taken prisoner with Phil White, and of 
each of Phil White's guards. Before quot 
ing them, we will say in regard to the 
statement in the extract from Howe's Col- 



lections that after Phil White had sun'en- 
dered, " he took up his musket and killed 
a Mr. Hendrickson," that as no allusion is 
made to it in these affidavits, it may have 
occurred at some previous time, and this 
murder as well as his participation in the 
murder of John Russell, and in other out- 
rages, undoubtedly caused the patriots to 
be anxious to capture him. 

Deposition or Aaron White. 

County of Monmouth, ss : Aaron White 
being duly sworn* deposeth : 

That he was taken prisoner with Philip 
White; that the deponent left New York 
in company with Philip White, Jeremiah 
Bell, negro Moses, John Fennimore and 
Robert Howell, on Thursday night, the 
twenty-eighth of March last ; that they 
sailed from New Y®rk to the Hook, where 
they remained till next morning, being 
Friday, the twenty-ninth ; that Phiiip 
White and negro Moses were landed at 
Long Branch that morning ; that the de- 
ponent understood that Captain Joshua 
Huddy was then a prisoner ; that on the 
day following, being Saturday the thirtieth, 
the deponent being ofi' in a boat with 
Fennimore, and having observed that the 
said Philip White and Moses had an en- 
gagement with some of the troops on 
shore, he ( the deponent ) went in a boat 
to their lelief, meaning to take them off; 
that when he came on shore he joined the 
said Phiiip White and negro Moses, and 
pursued one Thomas Berkley, with whom 
they had been engaged ; that in their pur- 
suit, the light horse came down, and the 
deponent with the said Philip White 
were made prisoners ; that they were put 
under guard to be sent to Freehold for 
confinement ; that on the way from Colt's 
Neck to Freehold, between Daniel Grand- 
io's and Samuel Leonard's, the deponent 
was told by one of his guard, that Philip 
White was running away ; that the depo- 
nent looked back and saw the horsemen 
in pursuit of something, but being about 
half a mile distant, could not distinguish 
after whom or what the pursuit was ; that 
the field in whicii they were pursuing was 
near the brook next to Mr, Leonard's, ad- 
joining a wood ; that Lieutenant Rhea 
and Georee Brindley left the deponent 
under guard of two men, and ran their 
iiorses hack towards the plac« the other 
men were pursuing ; that the deponent 
afterwards understood that it was Philip 
White they were pursuing, and that he 
was killed in the pursuit: that Captain 



62 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Joshua Huddy was not one of the guard 
or party, and the deponent understood 
and verily believes, that he was then a 
prisoner in New York ; and the deponent 
further and lastly declares, that the above 
is the truth as related without any fear, 
threats or compulsion whatever. 

Aaron White. 

Sworn before me this 1,5th dav of April, 
1782. ^ David Forman, 

Justice of Peace, Monmouth County 

That a clear idea of the order of the 
principal events referred to in these affi- 
davits may be obiained, we will here state 
that Cajttain Joshua Huddy was taken 
prisoner at Toms RiTer, on Sunday, March 
24th, 1782; on Saturday, the 30th of 
March, six days after, Phil White and 
Aaron were taken jH'isoners by the Mon- 
mouih militia; the same day (March 30th), 
Philip White was killed, at which time 
Captain Huddy wag confined in the sugar 
house i^rison in New York, where he had 
been put on Tuesday, March 26th, and 
remained here and in provost jail, until 
M'^nday, April 8th, when he was taken 
on b®ard a sloop and put in irons, and 
four days later, April 12th, 1782, he was 
hanged near the Highlands; his body was 
delivered to the Americans, sent to Free- 
hold and buried with the honors of war. — 
Three days after his death — -on the 15th 
of April, these affidavits were taken while 
the recollections of all the circumstances 
referred to, were fresh in the minds of tiie 
witnesses. 

Statements of Phjl White's Giauds. 

Phil White's guards were William Bor- 
den, John North and John Russell, They 
were probably at the time attached to 
Captain John Walton'sjtrooi)|of light horse, 
but Ivussell and perhaps the other two 
had been in the regular Continental army 
previously. Their statement of the de- 
tails of Phil White's death are undoubted- 
ly ^correct. We shall hereafter, in the 
court martial trial at New York, of the 
Refugee captain, Richard Lippincott, give 
the Tory evidence, and it will be seen that 
there was nothiiig offered to invalidate 
the affidavits of the guards. The first 
statement we give is the 

AFFIDAVIT OF WiLMAM BoKDF.N. 

County of Monmouth, ss : William Bor- 
den, of full age, being duly sworn, depos- 
eth : 

That he with a certain John North, and 
John Russell, were ordered to guard a cer- 
tain L'hilip White, mentioned in an ad- 



dress to his excellency. General Washing- 
ton, to Freehold. That the guard was 
ordered to shoot him if he attempted to 
escape, of which the said Philip was in- 
formed ; that on their way the said Philip 
jumped off his horse, and on pas.^ing a 
fence next to the woods, the deponent 
fired and shot him through the body, the 
bullet entering his back and coming out 
of his right breast ; that the said Philip 
at first fell, but recovered again, and at- 
tempted to get into the woods about two 
hundred yards distant ; that the deponent 
having leaped the fence on horseback, in- 
tercepted him in the way to the woods ; 
upon which he turned and threw himself 
into a bog, where the said John North 
met him and gave him a stroke with his 
sword ; that as the said Philip White turn- 
ed, the deponent struck him with the butt 
end of his carbine, and he still continued 
to run till he was struck by the said John 
North as aforesaid ; that this deponent, 
three or four times called to him, " White 
give up and yon shall have quarters yet."' That 
Caj^tain Joshua Huddy was; not one of the 
guard nor in coinj)any, but the deponent 
understood, antl has no reason to doubt, 
that he was then a prisoner in New York. 
That the above hapjiened between Daniel 
Grandin's and Samuel Leonard's in a field 
adjoining tlie woods, and through which 
the brook next to said Leonard's did run. 
On Saturday, the 30th of March last. 

Wii,i,iAM Bgrdex. 

Sworn before me this 15th day of April, 
1782. David Forman, 

Judge of Court of Common Pleas Monmouth Co. 
Affidavit of John North. 

County of Monmouth, ss : John North 
being duly sworn, deposeth and saith : 
That he, the deponent, was one of a cer- 
tain guard that had custody of Philip 
Whit* mentioned in the memorial to his 
excellency General Washington ; that the 
said guar(l was ordered to conduct the 
said Phili]) White from Long Branch 
(the place at which he with one Aaron 
White was token prisoner,) to Freehold; 
that the said guard was ordered, if he at- 
tempted to make his escape, to kill him ; 
that they were both inf\)rmcd that if they 
attempted to run they would be killed; 
that on the way to Freehold, the said 
Philip White went sideways off his horse 
and ran to the fence next to the wood ; 
that the deponent fired at liim but be- 
lieves the bail did not t*ke place upon 
him ; that William Borden, another of 
the guard, fired at him also, about the 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



63 



same instant of time, and shot l)im 
through the body, the bullet entering his 
back and passing out under his right 
breast; that he fell upon his hands and 
knees, but recovered himself and arose 
and ran across a small field making for 
the woods ; that the deponent left his 
horse and dropped his gun and pursued 
with his drawn sword ; that the deponent 
overtook him in a bog, and as ho was 
passing, gave him a stroke across tlie face 
with his sword, upon which he fell and 
cried he was a dead man ; that the said 
William Korden several times called to 
him saying : '* White, if you will give up 
you shall have good quarters yet;" that 
notwithstanding lie continued to run to 
the last moment, when he was cut down 
by this deponent as aforesaid ; and was 
within three or four paces ot a fence, 
which if he had passed, he would in all 
j)robability have elfecled his escape, pro- 
vided the gunshot should not have proved 
i'aial ; that Captain Joshua Iluddy was 
not one of the guard, it being notoriously 
well known that he was then a prisoner 
with the enemy. That the above haj)- 
pened between Daniel Grandin's and 
Samuel Leon 'rd's in a small field ; that 
the brook nearest Leonard's runs through 
the field ; that it was on Saturday the 
thirtieth day of Marcli last. 

John Noktii. 
Sworn before me this i.5th April 1782. 
David Forman, 
Justice C. C. Pleas Monmouth Co. 

Affidavit of John Russei.l. 

Ceunty of Monmouth, ss : John Russell 
of full age, being duly sworn deposeth : 

That he was one of the guai'd appointed 
to conduct Philip White and Aaron 
White to Freehold ; that the deponent 
was present at the timi; of the said Piiiiii) 
White's attempt to make his escape; that- 
lie has heard tire ;dhdavits of WiUiam 
Borden and John North and knows every 
circumstance therein mentioned to be 
true ; and in addition informs that in 
cour.se of their jnusuit after the said 
White, he passed the said deponent, and 
he, the deponent, gave him a sliglitwound 
in the forehead, but he still continued to 
run, although frequently desired to give 
up and he should have good quarters ; 
tliat this was the first blow he received ; 
tliat it was entirely his '^■wn fau't ; that 
he received a single stroke with a sword, 
he runni'ig and refusing to submit to the 
last minute; tliat Joshua Iluddy was then 



a prisoner in New York : that this hap- 
pened on Saturday the thirtieth of March 
last. John Russeij,. 

Sworn before me this i,5th April, 1782. 
David Forman, 
Justice of Peace Monmouth (Jo. 
Second Affidavit of Wiij.iam Bordkn. 

Four days after the foregoing affidavits 
were taken, it was thouglit advisable to 
take additional evidence, and William 
Borden was again sworn, and deposed as 
follows : 

County of Monmouth, ss : William 
Borden, of full age, being duly sworn, 
saith : 

That he, the deponent, was one of the 
guard appointed to conduct Philip White, 
a refugee piisoner, taken and killed as is 
at large set forth under oath of this de- 
ponent, taken the L'ith of April instant; 
and farther this dei)onent saith that ^Ae 
aforesaid Philip White re.eeivedno other wounds 
to the knowledge or belief of this^depo- 
nent than those set forth and described 
in this deponent's oath as aforesaid ; that 
the report said to be circulated in New 
York, viz : that the said Philip White 
had his arms cut off, and one of his (the 
said White's) eyes pulled out and both 
his legs broken, is false and without any 
the least foundation ; for that he, the 
aforesaid Philii) White, did not to this de- 
ponent's knowledge or belief receive any 
the least wound or hurt on either his 
(ttje aforesaid Philip White's) arms or legs 
neither was either of Ids (the aforesaid 
Philip White's) eyes pulled out. 

Lastly, this deponent saith, that he this 
deponent was jiresent at the time the 
aforesaid Philip White attempted to make 
his escape ; was in pursuit of him, the 
aforesaid Philip Whito, and was present at 
the time that the aforesaid Philip White 
was kdled •, that this deponent saw John 
Kussfcll and John North carry and put his 
(the aforesaid Philip White's) body in a 
wagon and attended the wagon up to the 
village of Freehold where his (the afore- 
said Philip White's) body was the same 
evening buried ; and further this depo- 
nent saith not. WlI.MAM BoKIHCN. 

Sworn before me this 19th April, 1782. 
David Forman. 

Certificate ofCai'Tain John Walton. 

This may certify that the within depo- 
nent, Williano Borden, has for several years 
last past, resided a near neighbor to me ; 
that.he was at the time the within men- 
tioned Philip White was killedj a soldier 



64 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



in my troop of horse ; and that during 
my acquaintance with him, the deponent, 
William Borden, he has on all occaaions 
been reputed a manof strict veracity and 
humanity. 

Given under my hand this 19th April, 
1782. JoHX Walto.v, 

Captain Light Dragoons. 

Certificate OF Judge David Forman. 

This may certify that on Saturday the 
30th of March, 1782, or thereabouts, I the 
subscriber, was present at the village of 
Freehold, when the body of Philip White 
was brought up ; that I went to the wfigon 
and saw the corpse ; the guard attending 
showed me the gun shot wound on his 
breast, pIso the cuts of a sword on his face. 
At that time the corpse appeared to be 
laid with as much decency as could be, 
and without any appearance of wounds in 
either of his arms or legs ; neither did I 
ever hear that his (the aforesaid Philip 
White's) arms had been cut off or his legs 
broken, &c. until after the execution of 
Captain Joshua Iluddy, viz.; on Saturday 
the 13th of April instant, and then I 
heard by a person from the British lines 
that a rep irt prevailed there that the 
aforesaid Philip White had been most 
cruelly murdered by having Ips arms cut 
off, liis legs broken, &c. 

Given under my hand this 19th day of 
April, 1782. " David Formax. 

The foregoing affidavits and certificates 
furnish a clear, satisfactory account of the 
cause and manner of Phil White's death, 
and completely exonerate his guard fiom 
the charge of wanton cruelty toward him. 
The probability is that Phil White sup- 
posed if he was taUen to Freehold jail 
that he would be tried and hanged for his 
participation in the murder of the father 
of John BuFsel, one of his guards, and for 
other misdemeanors and so he determined 
to try to escape and he made the effort at 
a place where he thought the woods, 
marsh, and brook would favor him and 
impede the light horsemen. 

The accounts published in ancient pa- 
pers are substantially the same as given in 
these affidavits. A month or so afterward 
the British at New York made desperate 
efforts to trump up evidence of wanton 
cruelty aiiainst North, Borden and Russell, 
the three guards, but that it signally 
failed, will be seen by an abstract of the 
second affidavit of Aaron White, taken 
June 19th, about six weeks after Phil 
White's 4eath. Aaron White, it will be 



remembered, was taken prisoner at the 
same time that Phil White was captured, 
and his affidavit while at Freehold, has 
already been given. It is probable that 
Aaron White was exclianged a few days 
after his first affidavit was taken, as we 
find by a copy of an order from the Board 
of Associated Ijoyalists that the officer in 
charge of prisoners at New York was- 
ordered to deliver up Daniel Randolph 
and Jacob Fleming, two Americans cap- 
tured at Toms River, with Captain Buddy, 
to be exchanged for the refugee, Captain 
Clayton Tilton and another refugee name 
not specified; but it is stated on the trial 
of Captain Richard Lippencott, tiiat they 
were to be exchanged by Governoi Frank- 
lin's order for Captain Clayton Tilton and 
Aaron White. A British military com- 
mission, of which Major General James 
Paterson was president, was organized 
in New York, to examine into the cir- 
cumstances of Captain Huddy's death 
and Captain Richard Lippf' icott's respon- 
sibility therefore, a.id before this commis- 
sion Aaron White testified substantially 
as follows : 

" That he was taken j^risoner by the 
rebels at Long Branch ; that one of the 
rebel militia named George Brindley told 
him if they did not take Phil White, 
that they would put him (deponent) to 
death ; that after Philip White was taken, 
he heard the said George Bridley swear 
by God that Phil White should not go 
alive to Freehold ; that the rebels stopped 
at Colts Neck and changed guard; that 
while at Colts Neck, Philip White told 
him he was afraid the rebels would mur- 
der him before they got to Freehold ; 
that when they started from Colts Neck 
he (deponent) was taken on ahead and 
Philip White kept behind under a guard 
of three men ; that these three men were 
John Russell, John North and one Borden 
who he had heard called three of as bad 
persecuting fellows as any in the country ; 
that it was his opinion the rebels intended 
to murder Piiilip White ; that the sergeant 
of the guard that had charge of Philip 
White as far as Colts Neck, informed him 
in Freehold jail that if Phil White had 
not been removed from his caro lie would 
not have been killed ; that General David 
Forman with a lawyer came to him while 
he was in jail at P'reehold and wanted 
him to make affidavit that Phil White 
was killed while endeavoring to escape ; 
that ^le told General Forman that he 
would die before he made such affidavit : 



1 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



65 



that after he escaped (was exchanged?) 
from Freehold jail, his friends all unani- 
mously told him that their opinion was 
that Philip White was most cruelly and 
inhumanly murdered ; that he did make 
an affidavit before General Forman, re- 
lating the circumstances of his leaving 
New York, of the skirmish, of a light 
horseman leaping over a fence and that 
the people of Freehold told him that 
Philip White was killed fairly ; that if 
(■reneral Forman sent in any other affidavit 
ii must have been forged." 

The foregoing was the strongest evi- 
dence the British and refugees could bring 
against Phil White's guard, and it will be 
seen that it amounts to but little and in 
no particular does it sustain the charge of 
wanton cruelty. It is a matter of pro 
found satisfaction that the evidence pre- 
served is so conclusive not only because it 
exonerates the guards from the malicious 
charges made against them, but also be- 
cause many descendants of these guards 
now live within the limits of old Mon- 
mouth, as do also multitudes of descen- 
dants of the four hundred citizens who 
assembled at Freehold, on the 14th of 
April, 1782, who inquired into and justi- 
fied the acts of the guard. 

The Refugees were very profuse at all 
limes in their charges against the Mon- 
mouth patrriots ; because the citizens of 
old Monmouth would not remain quiet 
and allow these precious scoundrels to 
roam at will throughout the county, rob- 
bing and murdering, they were denounced 
as guilty of inhumanity, wanton cruelty, 
persecution, &c. 

The Refugees had a very simple way of 
avoiding trouble from Monmouth patrriots 
— they had only to refrain from attempt- 
ing to commit outrages among them. 



ATTACK ON THE RUSSELL FAMILY. 



As this outrage was an unusually aggra- 
vated one even for the Refugees, and as 
mention of some of thw parties concerned 
in it is made in other chapters detailing 
other events during the Revolution, wti 
give the particulars as derived from vari- 
ous sources. The first extract is from Cei- 
lings New Jersey Gazette : 

'•On the 30th of April, 1780, a party of 
negroes and refugees from Sandy Hook, 
landed at Shrewsbury in order to plunder. 
During their excursion, a Mr. Russell, who 
attempted some resistance to their depre- 
dations, was killed, and his giandchild 



had five balls shot through him, but is yet 
living. Captain Warner of the privateer 
brig Elizabeth, was made prisoner by 
these ruffians, but was released, by giving 
them two half joes. This banditti also 
took off several persons, among whom 
were. Captain James Greene, and Ensign 
John Morris of the militia." 

The following statement is from Howe's 
Collections : " Mr. Russell was an elderly 
man, aged about 60 years ; as the party 
entered his dwelling, which wai in th« 
night, he fired and missed. William Gil- 
ian, a native of Shrewsbury, their leader, 
seized the old gentleman by the collar, 
and was in the act of stabbing him in the 
face and eyes with a bayonet, when the 
fire blazed up and shedding a momentary 
light upon the scene, enabled the younger 
Russell who lay wounded on the floor, to 
shoot Gilian. John Farnham, a native of 
Middletown, thereupon aimed his musket 
at the young man, but it was knocked up 
by Lippincott who had married into the 
family. The party then ^-ent off. The 
child was accidentally wounded in the af- 
fray." 

The Lippincott above referred to, we 
presume, was Captain Richard Lippincott, 
who had command of the party which ex- 
ecuted Captain Joshua Huddy. An out- 
line of his life will be given elsewhere. In 
regard to John Farnham, a refugee of this 
name was afterwards captured, tried and 
hung at Freehold — probably the same 
m»n. 

1'! the extract from Howe's Collections, 
it will be noticed that a younger Russell is 
referred to as being wounded and lying on 
the floor. This was .John Russell, at this 
time belonging to the Continental army, 
at home on a furlough to see his wife and 
parents. After the war, John Russell 
removed to Cedar Creek, in Ocean county, 
where he lived to quite an advanced age. 
His account of the affair was substantially 
as follows : 

There were seven refugees, and he (John) 
saw them through the window, and at one 
time they got so that he told his father he 
was sure they could kill four of them, and 
he wished to fire, as he believed the otiier 
three would run. His father persuaded 
him not to fire, but to do so when they 
broke into the house. When they broke 
in, the father fired first, but missed his 
aim ; he was then fired upon and killed. 
John Russell then fired and killed the 
man (Gilian) who shot his father. Dur- 
ing the affray young Russell was shot in 



66 



OLD TIMES IX OLD MONMOUTH. 



the side, and the scars of the wound were 
visible until he die i. After being wound- 
ed he fell on the floor and pretended to be 
dead. The refugees then went to plunder- 
ing the house. The mother and wife of 
John were lying in a bed with the child ; 
the child -.iwoke and asked, " Grandmoth- 
er, what's the matter?'' A refugee pointed 
Ins gun at it and fired and said " that's 
what's the matter." Whether he really 
intended to wound tlie child, or only to 
frighten it, is uncertain, but the child, as 
before stated, was badly wounded but 
eventually recovered. As the refugees 
were preparing to leave, one of the num- 
ber pointed his musket at young Russell 
as he lay on the floor, and was about firing, 
saying he didn't believe he was dead yet, 
whereupon another (Lippincott?) knocked 
up his musket, saying it was a shame to 
fire upon a dyin«,r man, and the load went 
into the ceiling. After the refugees were 
gone, John got up and had his wounds 
dressed and exclaimed to his wife, "Ducky! 
bring me a glass of whisky — I'll come out 
all right yet." He did come out a!l right 
and we have good reason to believe that 
before the war ended he aided in visiting 
merited retribution on the refugees for 
their doings at this time. Among the 
party was the notorious Phil White who 
was killed near two vears later ( March 
30tl., 1782.) 

Of the seven refugees concerned in this 
outrage, at least three are known to have 
met with their just deserts, viz: Gilian, 
killed at the tinje, Farnham, hanged at 
Freehold, and Phil White, killed while at- 
temptmir to escape from his guards between 
Colts Neck and Freehold. 



EXECUTION OF A SPY. 

One affair which caused the most intense 
excitement throughout old Monmouth, ' 
and elsewhere during the war of the Rev ! 
olution, was the arrest, trial and execution ! 
of a young man named Stephen Edwards, 
on tne charge of being a spy for the Brit- 
ish. Though reference to it is rarely met 
with in our histories, yet there were but 
few events in the county during the Rev- 
olution, that created a greater sensation 
than did this. 

One of the officers who tried Edwaids, 
and assisted at his execution, was Captain 
Joshua Huddy, and this furnished one of 
the excuses the refugees gave lor his in- 
human murder near the Highlands some 
three years after. On the trial of the ref- 



ugee leader, Captain Richard Lippincott, 
by a British Court Martial at New York, 
in the summer of 1782, for bis participa- 
tion in the hanging of Huddy, refugee wit- 
nesses testified that even while Huddy 
was a prisoner in their hands, and but a 
few days before his death, he boldly ac- 
knowlfdged his participation, and justified 
it on the ground that he was found with 
treasonable papers in his possession, which 
conclusively proved him to be a spy. On 
this trial, VViliiam Courlies, husbandtnan. 
late of Monmouth, then one of the Asso- 
ciated Loyalists ( as the refugees called 
themselves,) testified — 

"That in regard to the death of Stephen 
Edwards, he ( Courlies ) then resided at 
Shrewsbury, in Monmouth county. Ed- 
wards was taken out of his bed at his own 
house and carried to Freehold ; the follow- 
ing day he was brought to some kind of a 
trial, and the day following executed. — 
The ott'ense alleged against him was said 
to be his having some papers found in his 
packet. Edwards bore an excellent gooil 
character. Deponent heard there was 
complaint made to General Washington 
or tiie Governor, about Edwards' death, 
but he cannot tell the result. General 
Forman was one of the Judges who pre- 
sided at Edwards' trial; Huddy was anoth- 
er of the judges ; he had the information 
from Huddy himself; did not recollect 
heai'ing who the otlier judges were ; depo- 
nent was not present at the execution of 
Edwards, but was present at his burial. — 
Understood Edwards was tried for treason 
in consequence of papers found on his per- 
son." 

Captain Wm. Cunningham, who then 
was the British Provost Marshal at New 
York, and who by his own confession, 
(which has been given,) just previous to his 
execution in London, in 1791, wasas heart- 
less a wretch as ever lived, testified on 
this trial that he ( Cunningham ) told 
Huddy while he was a prisoner in the pro- 
vost, that he, the deponent, had he^rd 
tliat Huddy had hanged a refug'.e on a 
large oak near the Court House at Free- 
hold, and deponent asked Huddy concern- 
ing this rej)ort. Huddy^avowed, it saying: 
"By God he did, and he slushed the rope 
well, and that Colonel Forman assisted in 
pulling the ro])e hand over hand " — that 
was the very expression Huddy used. 

John Tilton, carpenter, a refugee from 
Monmouth, testified that when the refu- 
gee party was putting Captain Huddy in 
irons on board the sloop which conveyed 



OLD TIMES IX ODL MONMOUTH. 



67 



him to the Highlands, " he, the deponent, 
was present, and he asked Huddy if he 
thought it was good usage to iron him.— 
Huddy replied that he did not tliink it 
was ; but as he expected to be exchanged 
in a day or two, he did not mind the irons; 
and Huddy also said he expected to have 
the killing of deponent and many more 
yet. Deponent then asked Huddy if he 
expected to hang deponent as he had done 
poor Stephen Edwards ? Huddy replied 
that he did not hang Stephen Edwards, he 
only tied the knot and greased the rope 
that it might slip easily." 

The foregoing give the strongest points 
that we have been enabled to find against 
Captain Huddy for his ])articipation in the 
trial and execution of Edwards. It will 
be seen that there was no attempt to dis- 
prove the charge that Edwards was a spy. 
From all the information tliat we have 
been enabled to obtain, we are satisfied 
that the following account of Stephen Ed- 
wards arrest, trial and execution, from 
" Howe's Collections" is substantially cor- 
rect : 

Stephen Edwards, a young man, in 
the latter part of the war, leit his home in 
Shrewsbury and joined the loyalists ( ref- 
ugees ) in New York. From tlience he 
was sent bv Colonel Taylor of the refugees, 
a former resident of Middleiown, back to 
Monmouth county, with written instruc- 
tions to ascertain the force of the Ameri- 
cans there. Intormation having been con- 
veyed to the latter, Captain Jonathan For- 
man of the cavalry, was ordered to search 
for him. Suspecting he might be at his 
father's residence half a mile below Eaton- 
town, he entered at midnight with a party 
of men, and found him in bed with his 
wife, disguised in the night cap of a fe- 
male. 

"Who have you here?" said Forman. 
'• A laboring woman," replied Mrs. Ed- 
wirds. 

The captain detected the disguise, and 
on looking under the bed, saw Edwards' 
clothing, whioh he examined, and in which 
he found the papeis given him by Colonel 
Taylor. 

He then said " Edwards, I am sorry to 
find you ! You see these j^apers ? You 
have brought yourself into a very disagree- 
able situation — you know thefateof spies!" 
Edwards denied the allegation, remark- 
ing that he was not such and could not so 
be considered. • 

This occurred on Saturday night. The 
prisoner was taken to the Court House, 



tried by a Court Martial next day, and ex- 
ecuted at 10 o'clock on Monday morning. 
Edwards' father and mother had com^^ up 
that morning to ascertain the fate of their 
son, and returned with the corpse. Ed- 
wards was an amiable young man. The 
Forman and Edwards families had been 
on terms of intimate friendship, and the 
agency of the members of the former in 
the transaction, excited their deepest sym- 
l^atkics for the fate of the unfortunate 
prisoner. 

The guilt of Edwards was conclusively 
proven ; deep sympathy was felt for his 
parents and wife, but the perils of the pa- 
triots at this time were so great that prompt 
and decisive action was necessary for their 
own preservation. 

Tiie foolhardiness of Edwards in keep- 
ing treasonable papers about him was re- 
markable. Some features of this affair will 
remind the reader of the unfortunate Ma 
jor Andre. It is probable that Edwards 
was executed about September, 1778. 

PRIVATEERING ON OUR COAST. 

Toms River During the Revolution. 

Prizes taken — Americans captured — An 

enemy searching for. water loses his rum 

— Old Cranberry Inlet, &c. 

Toms River appears to have been occu- 
pied by the Americans as a military post 
daring the greater part of the Revolution. 
The soldiers stationed here were generally 
twelve months men, commanded by dif- 
ferent officers, among whom may be men- 
tioned. Captains Bigelow, Ephraim Jen- 
kins, James Mott, John Stout and Joshua 
Huddy. Captain Mott had command of a 
company called the " Sixth company " of 
Dover, and Captain Stout of the Seventh 
company. The Fifth company was from 
Stafford, and commanded by Capt. Reu- 
ben F. Randolph. These companies all 
belonged to the militia organization ef old 
Monmouth. 

The duties of the militia stationed at 
Toms River, appear to have been to guard 
the inhabitants against depredations from 
the refugees ; to check contraband trade 
by way of old Cranberry Inlet to New 
Y"ork,and to aid ourj^rivateers who brought 
prizes into the Inlet, which was a favorite 
resort for New Jersey, New England and 
other American privateers. 

By the following extracts, it will be seen 
that old Dover township was the scene of 
many stirring incidents during the war. 



68 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



About the 1st of April, 1778, the govern- 
ment salt works near Toms River, were de- 
strv>yed by a detachment of British under 
Captain Robertson. One building they 
alleged belonged to Congress and cost 
£6,000 The salt works on our coast at 
Manasquan, Shark River, Toms River, 
Ba -negat and other places, were so impor- 
tant lo the Americans during the war that 
we propose to notice them in a separate 
article. 

May 22d, 1778, it is announced that a 
British vessel with a cargo of fresh beef 
and pork, was taken by Captain Anderson 
and sixteen men in an armed boat, and 
brought into Toms River. 

In the early part of August following, 
the British ship •' Love and Unity." with 
a valuable cargo w.is brought into the In- 
let : the cargo was saved but the ship was 
subsequently retaken by a large Biitish 
fo.'ce ^ the particulars of the capture and 
recapture are as follows from ancient let- 
te 's : 

"August 12th, 1778. We learn th^at on 
Thursday night, the British ship " Love 
and Unity" trom Bristol, with 80 hhds of 
loaf sugar, several thousand bottles London 
po.'ter, and a large quantity of Bristol beer 
and ale, besides many other valuable ar- 
ticles, was designedly run ashore near 
Toms River. Since which, by the assist- 
arce of some of our militia, she has been 
bio loijc mto a safe port and her cargo pro 
per'y taken care of.'* 

The cargo of this siiip was advertised to 
be sold at Manasquan, on the 2r)th of Au- 
gust, by John Stokes, U. S. Marslial. The 
articles enumerated in the advertisement 
show that the cargo must have been a very 
valuable one. The Americans were not 
qi'ue so lucky with the ship as with the 
cargo, as will be seen by the following ex- 
tract, 

" Friday, September 18th, 1778. Two 
British armed shijis and two brigs, came 
close to the bar off Toms River (Cranbury) 
Inlet, where they lay all night. Next 
morning between seven nnd eight o'clock, 
they sent seven armed boats into the In 
let, and re-took the ship Washington for- 
merly "Love and Unity '' which had been 
taken by the Americans ; they also took 
two sloops near the bar and captured most 
of the crews. 

The cajjtain of the ship and most of his 
oflficers escaped to the main hmd in one of 
the ship's boats. Alter they .;ot ashore a 
man named Robert McMullen, who had 
been condemned to death at Freehold but 



afterwards pardoned, jumped into the boat, 
hurrahing for the British, and rowed off 
and joined them. Another refugee named 
William Dillon, who had also been sen- 
tenced to death at Freehold and pardon- 
ed, joined this party of British as pilot." 

By the following extract it will be seen 
that the regenades McMullen and Dillon, 
had been out of jail but a very few weeks, 
when they aided the British in this expe- 
dition : 

"July 22d, 1778. We learn that at the 
Court of Oyer and Terminer, held at Mon- 
mouth in June last, the following parties 
were tried and found guilty of burglary, 
viz: Thomas Emmons alias Burke, John 
Wood, Michael Millery, William Dillon 
and Robert McMullen. The two former 
were execute<l on Friday last, and the 
other three rejjrieved." 

McMullen probably had some connec- 
tion with the expedition — perhajis to spy 
out the whereabouts of the captured car- 
go, as he would not have been in th^t vi- 
cinity unless assured that a British force 
was'at hand. 

One tradition states that when he jump 
ed into the boat he was flying for his life 
— " that he was pursued by the Americans 
and escaped by swimming his horse across 
the river near its mouth to a point which 
he called Goodluck Point to commemorate 
his escape." 

Goodluck Point near the mouth of Toms 
River, tindoubtedly received its name 
from some person flying for his life in the 
above manner, and it is possible that it 
might have been McMullen. 

" On tbe 9t.h of December, 1778, it is an- 
nounced that a British armed vessel, bound 
from Halifax to New York, and richly 
laden, came ashore neur Barnegat: The 
crew, about sixty in number, surr»^ndered 
themselves prisoners to our militia. Goods 
to the amount of five thousand pounds 
sterling were taken out of her by our citi 
zens, and a number of prisoners sent to 
Bordentown, at which place the balance of 
prisoners were exp<^cted. About March, 
1779, the sloop Success, came ashore in a 
snow storm, at Barnegat. She had been 
taken by Uie British brig Dihgence, and 
was on her way to New York. She had a 
valuable cargo of rum, molasses, coffee, 
cocoa, <fec., on board. The Prize master 
and three hands were made prisoners and 
sent to Princeton. In the case of this ves- 
sel and the 8ne previously mentioned it is 
probable the Toms River militia aided, as 
the name of Barnegat was freqtiently ap- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



plied to the shore north of the inlet, both 
on the beach and on the main land. 

Feb. 8th, 1779, the sloop Fancy and 
schooner Hope, with cargoes of pitch, tar 
and salt are advertised for sale at Toms 
River by the U. S. Marshal. They were 
probabl}*. prize*!. The Major Van Emburg 
mentioned in the following, belonged to 
the 2d Reg. Middlesex militia; he was ta- 
ken May 14, 1780. 

On the 5th of June, 1780, an ancient pa- 
per says: "On Sunday morning, Major 
Van Emburg and pight or nine men from 
West Jersey, on a fishing party, were svtr- 
prised in bed at Toms River by the Refu- 
gees, and put on board a vessel to be sent 
prisoners to New York, but before the 
vessel sailed they fortunately managed to 
escape." 

Toms River then did not seem quite as 
desirable place for pleasure resort as it is 
in the present day. History does not tell 
us whether the Major was successful in 
catching fish ; all we know is that he got 
caught himself. 

About the middle of December, 1780, a 
British brig in the West India trade, was 
captuivd and brought into Toms River. — 
This bri^ was short of water and provisions 
and mistaking the land for Long Island, 
sent a boat and four men ashore to obtain 
supplies. The militia hearing of it man- 
ned two boats and went out and took her. 
She had on board 150 hhds of rum and 
spirits, which our ancestors pronounced 
'• excellent,'' by which we conclude they 
must have considered themselves compet- 
ent judgies of the article! With the 
British, rum must have been a necessity, 
as in every prize taken from them rum 
was an important part of the cargo. 

The British brig Molly, was driven 
ashore in a snow storm near Barnegat ; 
her prize crew were taken prisoners by 
the militia and sent to Philadelphia. 

In December, 1780, Lieut. Joshua Stud- 
son of Toms River, was sliot by tlie refu- 
gee Bacon, inside of Cranberry inlet. The 
particulars of this affair are given in a 
notice of Bacon's career, and therefor it is 
unnecessary to repeat them. 

March 19, 1782. The privateer Dart, 
Capt. Wm. Gray, of Salem, Mass., arrived 
at Toms River with a prize sloop, taken 
from the British galley Black Jack. The 
next day he went with his boat and seven 
men in pursuit of a British brig near the 
bar. Unfortunately for Capt. G-ray, in 
stead of taking a prize he was taken him- 
self. For a long time after, tlie Toms Riv- 



er people wondered what had become of 
him. In August following they heard 
from him. After getting outside the bar 
he was taken prisoner, and carried to Hali- 
fax, and subsequently released on parole. 
He stated he was well treated while a 
prisoner. 

A few days after Capt. Gray was taken, 
the British attacked and burned Toms 
River. This was the last affair of any im- 
portance occuring in the immediate vicini- 
ty of Toms River during the war. But 
south of Toms River several noted affairs 
afterwards occurred. Davenport burned 
the salt works at Forked River, and was 
himself killed in June ; in October, Bacon 
attacked and killed several men on the 
beach south of Barnegat lighthouse ; in 
December, occurred the skirmish at Cedar 
Creek, where young Cooke was killed ; on 
the 3d of April ibllowinjr, (1783,) Bacon 
was killed near West Creek 

A Rhode Isl.\nd Prize. 

The original and following certificate is 
in pressession of Ephraim P. Empson, Esq., 
of Colliers Mills: 

Providence, Feb. 21, 1777. 

This may certify that Messrs. Clark and 
Nightingale and Captain William Rhodes 
have purchased here at vendue, the 
schooner Pope^s Head, which was taken by 
the privateers Sally and Joseph (under 
our command) and carried int« Cranberry 
Inlet, in the Jersies, and there delivered 
to the care of Mr. James Randolph by our 
prize masters. James M.\ro. 

John Fish. 
Miscellaneous Items. 

During the war tbere were interesting 
everts occurring at Toms River, outside of 
military and naval matters. 

In January. 1778, t4ie sloop Two Friends, 
Capt. Alex. Bonnett of Hispaniola, was 
cast away near Barnegat, with 1,600 bags 
of salt, 49 hhds molasses, also a lot of 
rum, sugar. &c. Only 160 galls, rum 
saved. The shore people went to their 
assistance but one man was lost. The 
Capt. of the Two Friends, Alex. Bonnett. 
then shipped as a passenger in the sloop 
Endeavor of Tom.=. River, for New York, 
but sad to relate, while she lay at anchor 
in the inlet, a storm at night parted the 
cable and all on board were drowned in 
the bay. 

In December, 1778, Capt. Alexander of 
the sloop Elizabeth of Baltimore, was 
taken by the British, but he wj'S permitted 
to leave in his small boat, and landed in 
Toms River inlet. 



70 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



It was during the war, in the year 1777, 
that Rev. Benjamin Abbott, expounded 
the then new principles of Methodism, to 
the people of Toms River, first at tlie 
house of Esquire Abiel Aikens, and then 
at another place when "a Frenchman fell 
to tlie floor, and never rose vxntil the Lord 
converted his soul. Here (at Toms Riv- 
er), we had a happy time," so sa.ys Abbott 
in his journal. 

During the war there was of course no 
communication with New York, but the 
people of Toms River had considerable 
overland intercourse with West Jersey, 
Philadelphia and Freehold. 

THE REFUGEES. 

Historians generally concede that no 
state among the old thirteen suffered dur- 
ing the war of the revolution more than 
did New Jersey ; and it is generally ad- 
mitted that no county in our State suffer- 
ed more than did old Monmouth. In ad- 
dition to the outrages to which the citizens 
weie subjected from the regular British 
army, they were continually harassed by 
depredations committed by regularly or- 
ganized bands of Refugees and also by 
the lawless acts of a set of outcasts known 
as " the Pine Woods Robbers," who 
though pretending to be Royalists yet if 
opportunity offered, robbed Royalists as 
well as Americans. 

The Refugees or Loyalists, as they call- 
ed themselves, were renegade Americans, 
regularly organized with officers commis- 
sioned by the " Board of Associated Loy- 
aliBts " at New York. Of- this body the 
first president was Daniel Coxe, a Jersey- 
man. It was organized in 1779, and its 
objects were the exanjination of captured 
Aracicans and suspected persons, and the 
planning of Eieasures for procuring i itel- 
ligence, and otherwise aiding the Royal 
cause. Coxe wss appointed President 
(said a Refugee) to deprive Iiim of the op- 
portunity of speaking, as " he had the gift 
of saying little with many words." Anoth- 
er President of the Board was William 
Franklin, a natural son of Benjamin 
Fi'anklin, and the last Tory Governor of 
New Jersey. 

It is not probable that all who were 
called Jersey Refugees where natives of 
the state ; too many were it is true : but 
the thrift and industry of the inhabitants 
of old Modmouth, once the richest county 
in the state, the advantageof deep swamps 
for hiding, the proximity of Raritan Bay 



and the seaboard rendering it convenient 
to send plunder to New York, all formed 
attractions to draw here villains from 
other parts whose chief object was plun- 
der, who scrupled at no crime to obtain 
booty or to gratify revenge. 

The character of some of these men is 
clearly set forth in the following %xtracts, 
the first from Whig and the other from 
Tory authority. 

Gov. Livingston, the able, fearless and 
eloquent first patriot Governor of New 
Jersey, in a message to the Legislature in 
1777, says : 

" The Royalists (Refugees) have plun- 
dered friends as well as ibes : effects capa- 
ble of division they have divided ; such as 
were not they have destroyed. They have 
vsii Ted on decrepid old age and upon de- 
fenceless youth ; they have committed 
hostilities against the professors of litera- 
ture and against the ministers of religion ; 
against public records and private monu- 
ments, books of improvements a.nd papers 
of curiosity, and against the arts and sci- 
ences. They have butchered the woixnd- 
ed when asking for quarter, mangled the 
dead while weltering in their blood ; re- 
fused to the dead their right of sepulture, 
suffered prisoners to perish for want of 
sustenance, violated the chastitj' of vro 
men, disfigured private dwellings of taste 
and elegance, and in their rage of impiety 
and barbarism, profaned edifices dedica- 
ted to Almighty God." 

Strong and emphatic as is the foregoing 
language of the patriotic Livingston, yet it 
fails to jjortray the brutality . of some 
wretches who pretended to be Refugee 
Loyalists as clearly as the following brief 
extract from the evidence of a Tory nam- 
ed Galloway, of Pennsylvania, given un- 
der oath before Parliament. At the breaK- 
ing out of the Revolution, Galloway, a 
Pennsylvanian of wealth and standing, 
sided with the Whigs, but soon turned 
Tory, and his property to the amount of 
£40,000 was confiscated. Speaking of 
Refugee outrages, he said : 

" Respecting indiscriminate plunder it 
is known to thousands. In respect to 
rapes, a solemn inquiry was made and af- 
fidavit taken by which it appears that no 
less than twenty-three were committed in 
one neighborhood in New Jersey, some of 
them on married women, in presence of 
their helpless husbands, and others on 
daugliters while their unhappy parents 
with unavailing tears and cries could only 
deplore their savage brutality." 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



71 



This was the evidence of as reliable a 
man as ever sided with the Tories. In 
corroboi-ation of the foregoing we might 
instance, among other things, the burn- 
ing of churches in Essex county, of ravish- 
ment of women (one of them nearly sev- 
enty years old), &c. And Jerseymen have 
the mortification of knowing that wretch 
es pretending to be natives of this state 
disgraced the soil that gave them birth 
by acts of brutality elsewhere, among 
which may be mentioned the cold blood- 
ed murder of the brave Col. Ledyard at 
Fort Griswold, Conn., by a wretch known 
as the " Jersey Refugee, Bromfield." Af- 
ter the Americans had surrendered the 
fort, Bromfield asked who commanded it. 
The heroic Ledyard replied " I did, but 
you do now," and he delivered his sword 
to Bromfield. The cold blooded villain 
took it and immediately stabbed Ledyard 
to the heart. 

That all the regularly organized Refu 
gees or Loyalists as they called themselves 
were not as hardened villains as above de- 
scribed we shall endenvor to show here- 
after. The best class of them were to© 
honorable to engage in midnight marau- 
ding expeditions against their former 
friends and neighbors, but cast their lot 
with the regular British army, most of 
them in a military organization known as 
the " First Battalion New Jersey Royal 
Volunteers,'' of which aprominent officer 
was an ex-sherifF of old Monmouth. 
These New Jersey Royalists were some- 
times termed " the Greens " and " Gene- 
ral Skinner's Greens." General Skinner 
was their most noted commander, of whom 
a notice will be given hereafter, as also of 
other prominent officers. 

To give an idea of the troublous times in 
which lived the citizens of old Monmouth, 
the following extracts from various sour- 
ces are furnished, before which, we give 
the names of some of the officers of 

The Monmouth Militia in the Revolution. 

The following are some of the officers of 
the militia of old Monmoutn during the 
war: 

First Regiment. 

George Taylor, Colonel. (Deserted to the 
enemy.) 

Nathaniel ScudrJ^r, Lieutenant Colonel, 
Colonel. 

Asher Holmes, First Major, Colonel. 

John Smock, Captain, Major, Lieuten- 
ant Colonel, Colonel. 



Thomas Seabrook, First Major, Lieuten- 
ant Colonel. 

Elisha Walton, Ensign, Captain, Second 
Major, First Major. 

Thomas Hunn, Captain, Second Major. 

Kenneth Anderson, Adjutant. 

David Rhea, jr.. Adjutant. 

John Stilwell, Quartermaster. 

John Campbell, Quartermaster. 

Richard Hartshorne, Quartermaster. 

Thomas Barber, Surgeon. 

Jacob Hubbard, Surgeon. 

John Scudder, Surgeon's Mate. 
Second Regiment. 

David Brearlf^y, Colonel. 

Joseph Salter, Lieutenant Colonel. 
•--Samuel Forman, Captain, Lieutenant 
Colonel, Colonel. 

Elisha Lawrence, jr., First Major, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel. 

William Montgomery. Captain, First 
Major. 

James Mott, Second Major. 

John Cook, Captain, Second Major. 
Third Regiment. 

Samuel Breese, Colonel. 

Daniel Hendrickson, Colonel. 

Auke WikofF, Lieutenant Colonel, Colo 
nel. 

Dennis Denise, First-Major. 

Hendrick VanBrunt, Lieutenant, Cap- 
tain, Second Major. 

Of the First Regiment the first Colonel 
(Taylor) went over to the enemy ; its next 
Colonel, Nathaniel Scudder, was kilied at 
Black Point, Oct. 15th, 178L Asrier 
Holmes appears to have been transferred 
to a State Regiment. 

A more extended list of officers and 
privates in these and other organizations 
will be furnished hereafter. 

REFUGEE RAIDS IN OLD MON- 
MOUTH. 

" June 3d, 1778. We are informed that 
on Wednesday morning last, a jiarty of 
about seventy of the Greens from Sandy 
Hook, landed near Major Kearney's ( near 
Keyport ) headed the Mill Creek, Middle- 
town Point, and marched to Mr. John 
Burrows, made him prisoner, burnt his 
mills and both his store houses, all valua- 
ble buildings, besides a great deal of fur- 
niture. They ?lsotook iJrisoners Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Smock, Captain Christopher 
Little, Mr. Joseph Wall, Capt. Joseph Co- 
venhoven ( Conover ) and several other 
persons, and killed Messrs. Pearce and 



72 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Van Brockle, and wounded another man 
mortally. Having completed this and 
several other barbarities, they precipitate- 
ly returned the same morning to give an 
account of their abominable deeds to their 
bloody employers. A number of these 
gentry, we learn, u'ere formerly inhabi- 
tants of that neighborhood." 

April 26th, 1779. An expedition con- 
sisting: of seven or eight hundred men un- 
der Colonel Hyde, went to Middletown, 
Red Bank, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury and 
other places, robbing and burning as they 
went. They took Justice Covenhoven and 
others, prisoners. Capt. Burrows and Col. 
Holmes assembled our militia and killed 
three and wounded fifteen of the enemy. 
The enemy, however, succeeded in carry- 
ing oft' horses, cattle and other plunder. 

In May, two or three weeks after the 
above atfair, some two or three hundred 
Tories landed at Middletown on a ''pica 
rooning'" ( plundering ) expedition, but 
were repulsed before doing much harm. 

June 9th, 1779. A party of about fifty 
Refugees landed in Monmouth and march- 
ed to Tinton Falls undiscovered, where 
they surprised and carried off Col. Hen- 
drickson. Col. Wyckoff", Capt. Chadwick 
and Capt. McKnight, and several privates 
of the militia, and drove off sheep and 
horned cattle. About thirty of our mili- 
tia hastily collected, made some resistance, 
but were repulsed with t!ie loss of two 
men killed and ten wounded, the enemy's 
loss unknown. 

April 1st, 1780. About this time the 
Tories made another rakl to Tinton Falls, 
ana took seven prisoners. Another party 
took Mr. Bowne prisoner at Middletown, 
who but three days before had been ex- 
changed and had just got home. 

About the last of April llie Refugees 
attacked the house of John Holmes, Up- 
per Freehold, and robbed him of a large 
amount of continental money, a silver 
watch, gold ring, silver buckles, pistols, 
clothing, Sec. 

June 1st, 1780. The noted Colonel Tye, 
a mulatto, and formei'ly a slave in Mon- 
mouth county, with his motley compa,ny 
of about twenty blacks and whit^es carried 
off' prisoners Captain Barney vSmock and 
Gilbert Van Mater, spiked an iron cannon 
and took four horse's. Their rendezvous 
was at Sandy Hook. 

The Attack on Captain Huudv at Colts 
Neck. 
Sept. 1780. It is perhaps proper to give 
first tiie version of this affair as found in 



Howe's Historical Collections of New Jer- 
sey, as the compiler of that work probably 
obtained his information from aged per- 
sons living in 1842, when he visited the 
locality. 

After mentioning that the dwelling in 
which Captain Huddy resided during the 
war, was then owned by Thomas G. Haight, 
Esq., and standing in a central part of 
Colts Neck, he say> : 

Huddy distinguished himself on various 
occasions during the war, and became an 
object of terror to the Tories. In the sum- 
mer of 1780, a party of about 60 refugees, 
commanded by Tye, a mulatto, one even- 
ing attacked this dwelling. Huddy, as- 
sisted only by a servant girl aged about 
twenty years, defended it for some length 
of time. Several muskets were fortunate- 
ly left in the house by the guard generally 
stationed there, but at this time absent. — 
These she loaded, whil^ Huddy by appear- 
ing at different windows and discharging 
them, gave the impression that there were 
many defenders. He vvovmded several 
and at last, while setting fire to the house, 
he shot their leader, Tye, in the wrist. — 
Huddy finding the flames fast increasing, 
agreed to surrender, provided they would 
extinguish the fire. 

It is said that the enemy on entering 
were much exasperated at the feebleness 
of the defenders, and could with difficulty 
be restrained by their leader from butcher- 
ing them on the spot. They were obliged 
to leave, as the militia soon collected and 
killed six on their retreat. They carried 
off with Huddy several cattle and sheep 
from the neighborhood, but lost them 
fording the creeks. They embarked on 
board their boats near Black Point between 
Shrewsbury and Navisink rivers. As the 
boats pushed off" from shore, Huddy jump- 
ed overboard and was shot in the thigh as 
was supposed by the militia, then in close 
pursuit. He held up one of his hands to- 
wards them exclaiming, " I am Huddy ! 1 
am Huddy /" swam to the shore and es- 
caped. 

The name of the heroine who loaded the 
muskets for Huddy. says the above writer, 
was Lucretia Emmons, afterwards Mrs. 
Chambers, and she died at Freehold about 
20 years before his visit. 

Titus or Col. Tye as he was commonly 
called, usually commtinded a mongrel 
crew of negroe.s and tories. He died ot 
lockjaw, occasioned by the wound in his 
wrist. He was a slave of John Corlies, and 
was born and bred in the south part of 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



73 



this township. He was an honorable, 
brave, but headstrong man. Several acts 
of generosity are remembered of hiai, and 
he was justly more respected as an enemy 
than many of his brethren of a fairer com- 
plexion. 

Marks of tue fire were plainly discerna- 
ble when the above writer visited the 
house in June, 1842, and on the eastern 
end of the house were several bullet holes. 

In a Philadelphia paper published at 
the time, is a letter from Monmouth coun- 
ty dated Sept. 9tli, 1780, which gives a 
version of this afiiiir, stated to have been 
on the authority of Captain Huddy him- 
self. The following is the substance ot the 
letter : 

" There were 72 men attacked him at 
his residence at Colts Neck. They were 
under the command of Lieutenant Joseph 
Parker and William Hewlett, and com 
menced the attack about an hour before 
day. They commenced staving a window 
to pieces, which aroused Huddy ; the girl 
helued him to defend himself. Mrs. Hud- 
dy and another woman tried to persuade 
him to surrender, as defense was usehss. 
Tye, •' one of Lord Dunmore's crew," re 
ceived a severe wound. After Huddy sur- 
rendered, they plundered the house. The 
tight lasted two hours. Six militia men 
came near and fired and killed their com- 
mander. Ensign Vincent and sixteen of 
the State Regiment attacked the refugees 
as they embarked, and wounded Huddy. 
The firing made confusion in the boats, 
and one overset and Huddy swam ashore.'" 

The letter adds that the refugees made 
a silent, shameful retreat, loaded with dis- 
grace, and the Americans made quite mer- 
ry over the fact that it took seventy-two 
of the enemy two hours to take one man. 

Oct. 15th. 1781 A i)arty of refugees 
from Sandy Hook, landed at night at 
Shrewsbury and marched undiscovered to 
Colts Neck and took six prisoners. The 
alarm reached the Court House about four 
or five o'clock, P. M., and a number of in 
habitants, among whom whs Dr. Nathaniel 
Scudder, went in pursuit. They rode to 
Black Point to try to recapture the six 
Americans, and while firing from the bank 
Dr. Scudder was killed. 

Dr. Scudder was Colonel of the First 
Regiment Monmouth Militia, and one of 
the most prominent, active and useful 
patriots of Monmouth, and his death whs 
a severe loss to the Americans. He was 
bviried with all the honors of war. Gen- 
eral Forman's original order to Captain 



Walton to bury Dr. Scudder with all the 
honors of war. was presented to the New- 
Jersey Historical Society in May, 1847, by 
Mrs. Forman, 

About the beginning of August. 1782 
Richard Wilgus, an American, was shot 
beiow A llentown, while on guard to prevent 
contraband trade with the British. 

February 8th, 1782. About fortv refu- 
gees under Lieutenant Steelraan,' came 
over Sandy Hook »o Pleasant V;dley. — 
They took twenty horses and five sleighs 
which they loaded with plunder ; they 
also took several prisoners, viz; Hend'ick 
Henderson and his two sons, Peter Coven- 
hoven, Esq., ( Esq. Covenhoven or Cone 
ver as the name is now called, was made 
prisoner once before, in 1779, as before re- 
lated,) Garret Hendrickson, Samuel B wne 
and son and Jaques Denise. At Garret 
Hendrickson's a young man named Wil- 
liam Thompson got up slyly an'^ went and 
informed Captain John Schenck, of Colo- 
nel Holmes' regiment, who colh-cted ail 
the men he could to pursue. They over- 
took and attacked the refugees, and the 
before mentioned VViiliam Thompson was 

killed and William Cottrell wounded. 

They however took twelve refugee prison- 
ers, three of whom were wounded. But in 
returning, they unexpectedly fell in with 
a party of sixteen men under Stevenson, 
and a sudden firing caused eight of the 
prisoners to escape. But Captain Schenck 
ordered his men to charge hayonet and 
the tories surrendered. Captain Schenck 
retook nineteen horses and five sheep, and 
took twenty-one prisoners. 

The first of the foregoing extracts relat- 
ing to the raid of the British in Middle- 
town township in 1778, and then landing 
near Major Kearney's in the vicinity of 
Keypo 1, is probably the affair referred to 
in a tradition given in Howe's Historical 
Collections, which we append, as it ex- 
plains whv the refugees fled so precipitate- 
ly. It will be noticed, however, that it 
does not agree with the extract quoted as 
to damage done, but we are inclineo to 
believe tiiat t' e extract coj^ied from the 
ancient paper (Collins' Gazette) is correct, 
as it was written but a few days aVter the 
affair took place. 

"The proximitv of this part of Mon- 
mouth county to New York, rendered it, 
in the war of tfie Revolution, peculia'ly 
liable to the incursions of the British 
troops. Many of the inhabitants, although 
secretly favorable to the American cause, 
were obliged to feign allegiance to the 



74 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



crown or lose their property by maraud- 
ing parties of refugees from vessels lying 
off Sandy Hook> Among those of this 
description was Major Kearney, a resident 
near the present site of Keyport. On one 
occasion, a party of thirty or forty refugees 
stopped at his dwelling on their way to 
Middletown Point, where they intended 
to burn a dwelling and some mills. Kear- 
ney teigned gratification at their visit, and 
falsely informed them that there were 
probably some rebel troops at the Point, 
in which case it would be dangerous to 
march thither. He ordered his negro ser- 
vant Jube tliither to make inquiry, at the 
same time giving him secretly the cue to 
act. In due length of time, Jube, who 
had gone but a short distance, returned 
and hastily entered the room where Kear- 
ney and the refugees were, and exclaimed, 
" (3h, Mafsa ! Massa I the rebels are at the 
Point thick as blackberries! They have 
just come down from the Court House and 
say they are going to march down here 
to-night." The ruse succeeded ; the ref- 
ugees, alarmed, precipitately fled, retreat- 
ed to their boats, leaving the Major to re- 
joice at the success of the stratagem which 
had saved the property of his friends from 
destruction." 

The probability is that the ruse prevent- 
ed the refugees from doing as much dam- 
age as they had intended, although they 
remained long enough to inflict considera- 
ble injury (is has been related. 



CAPTAIN JOSHUA BUDDY, THE 
HERO MARTYR OF OLD MONMOUTH. 



Among the multitude of heroic men fur- 
nished by our State in aid of the struggle 
for independence, the name of Captain 
Joshua Huddy should ever occupy a con 
spicuous place in the memory of Jersey- 
men. Yet when we recall his daring deeds, 
his patriotic efforts and sacrifices and his 
unfortunate end, it is doubtful if les« jus- 
tice has been done to the services and 
memory of any other hero of his day. — 
Though the Continental Congress, as well 
as General Washington and other noted 
men testified their warm appreciation of 
his services ; though his name at one time 
was a household word, not only through- 
out this country but at the courts of Eng- 
land and France ; and though his unfor- 
tunate death and its consequences, for a 
time, caused the most intense excitement 
on both sides of the Atlantic, yet in the 
substance of the language of a report 



adopted by Congress in 1837, " It is fear- 
ful to state that after a lapse of fifty years, 
wnile the services of others of so much less 
merit have been made the theme of the 
biographer and the poet, the memory of 
Huddy has not been honored with an epi- 
taph. His country, it would seem, has 
outlived the recollection of his services, 
and forgotten that suoh a victim was sac- 
rificed tor American liberty." 

Outline of Captain^ Huddy's Lite. 

The following extracts from the archives 
of the State Department of New Jersey, 
were furnished in 1837 to a Congressional 
committee at the request of the chairman, 
by the late Governor Philemon Dickenson: 

*' Joshua Huddy signs his name as Cap- 
tain, to a petition from the militia officers 
of the county of Monmouth, to the Legis- 
lature, which is dated the 12th of May, 
1777. 

''Captain Joshua Huddy is appointed by 
an act of the Legislature, passed Septem- 
ber 24th, 1777, to the command of a com- 
pany of artillery, to he raised from the mi- 
litia of the State, and to continue in ser- 
vice not exceeding one year. 

"In the accounts of the paymaster of the 
militia there is an entry of a payment 
made on the 30th of July, 1778, to Captain 
Joshua Huddy, of the artillery regiment 
for services at Haddonfield, under Colonel 
Holmes. In the same accounts a payment 
is also made to Captain Huddy on the 1st 
July, 1779, for the use ot his horses in the 
artillery. 

"I find a petition to the Legislature from 
the people of Monmouth, dated December 
10th, 1781, recommending Captain Joshua 
Huddy as a proper person to command a 
guard, to be stationed at'l^oms River. On 
examining the minutes of both houses of 
the Legislature, I find no action had on 
this petition ; in fact there is no mention 
of its being presented. The Legislature 
adjourned on the 29th of December, and 
did not meet again until May 15th, 1782. 
Huddy was taken liy the tories at Toms 
River, Sunday, March 2'4th, 1782, and it is 
not unlikely ( as the Legislature had no 
action on this petition ) he was ordered to 
that post by tlie Council of Safety, which 
exercised legislative potvers during the re- 
cess of the LegisKture. The minutes of 
the Council of Safety must be either lost 
or destroyed, as thay cannot be found." 

The above extracts were made and fur- 
nislied to Governor Dickenson by George 
C. Westcott, then secretary of State. ( In 
the original is an error corrected above : 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



75 



it says that Captain Huddy was taken 
prisoner April 2d ; it should be March 
24th.) 

The details of the attack on Toms River 
have been given. 

Captain Huddy, with other prisoners, 
was taken to Mew York and lodged in the 
noted Sugar House prison, from whence 
he was taken on Monday, April 1st, 1782, 
to the prison of the Provost Guard in New 
York, where he was cloFely confined 'until 
Monday, April 8th, when he, with Daniel 
Randolph and Jacob Fleming, ( both of 
whom wfre taken prisoners witu Huddy 
at Toms River, but soon exchanged for 
two tories. named Captain Clayton Tilton 
and Aaron White.) were taken on board a 
sloop and ironed. 

The following is a copy of the order to 
the Commissary of Prison at New York, to 
deliver him to the care of Captain Richard 
Lippincott, of the Refugees, to be taken 
on bo^rd the sloop : 

New York, April 8th, 1782. 

Sir : — Deliver to Capt. Ricliard Lippen- 
cott the three following prisoners : Lieu- 
tenant Joshua Huddy, D;iniel Randolph 
and Jacob Fleming, to take down to the 
Hook, to procure the exchange of Captain 
Clayton Tilton and two other associated 
loyalists. 

By order of the Board of Directors of 
Associated Loyalists. 

S. S. Blowers, Secretary. 
To Mr. Commissary Challoner. 

Huddy, Randolph and Fleming were 
kept in irons in the hold of the sloop, until 
Tuesday evenirg, April 9th, when they 
were transferred to *^heguardship at Sandy 
Hook, where they were confined between 
decks until Tuesday, April 12th, on the 
morning of which day, Hud^y was taken 
on shore by a party of refugees under com- 
mand of Captain Richard Lippencott, and 
at about ten o'clock executed. One refu- 
gee account says the hangman was a ne- 
gro. Captain Huddy executed his will 
under the gallows, signing it on the barrel 
from which he was a few moments after 
launched into another world. 

Captain Huddv's Will. 

The following is a copy of the will of 
Captain Huddy, signed by him under the 
gallows : 

" In the name of God, amen : I, Joshua 
Huddy, of Middletown, in the county of 
Monmouth, being of sound mind and- 
memory, but expef^ting shortly to depart 
this life, do declare this my lasst will and 
testament : 



"First : I commit my soul into the hands 
of Almighty God, hoping he may receive 
it in mercy ; and next I commit my body 
to the earth. I do also appoint my trusty 
friend, Samuel Forman, to be my lawful 
executor, and after all my just debts are 
paid, I desire that he do divide the rest of 
my substance whether by book, debts, 
notes or any effects whatever belonging to 
me, equally between my two children, 
Elizabeth and Martha Huddy. 

"In witness whereof I have hereunto 
sunned my name this twelfth day of April, 
inthe year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-two. 

"Joshua Huddv." 

The will was written on half a sheet of 
foolscap paper, on the back of which was 
the following endorsement, evidently writ- 
ten shortly after the will was executed : 

'■ The will of Captain Joshua Huddy, 
made and executed the same day the ref- 
ugees murdered him, April 12th, 1782." 

The will was found some years ago 
among the papers of hie executor, the late 
Colonel Samuel Forman. It was signed by 
Captain Huddy, but was apparently writ- 
ten by another person. Captain Huddy's 
daughters subsequently became Elizabeth 
Gieen and Martha Piatt — the last named 
lived to an advanced age. In early life 
she removed to Cincinnati, Ohio ; both 
daughters we believe left descendants. 

After Captain Huddy's inhuman murder 
his body was left hanging until afternoon, 
when the Americans came and took it to 
Freehold, to the house of Captain James 
Greene, where it was April 15th. He was 
buried with the honors of war. His fun- 
eral sermon was preached by the well re- 
membered Rev. Dr. John Woodhull, pastor 
of the First Presbyterian Church, Free- 
hold. 



CAPTAIN .JOSHUA HUDDY, THE 
HERO MARTYR OF OLD MONMOUTH. 



MEASURES FOR RETALIATION. 



The execution of Huddy was regarded 
by General Washington as a matter of so 
much importance, that he directed that a 
number of general officers of the army 
should meet at West Point to decide on 
what measures should be adopted. At this 
council it was unanimously decided that 
retaliation should be made, and that it 
should be inflicted on an officer of equal 
rank, and the designation should be made 
by lot from among prisoners of war, unless 



76 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOLTTIL 



the British surrendered Captain Richard 
Lippincott. A formal demand was made 
for the surrender of Lippincott and refus- 
ed, and in consequence on the 13th of 
May, lots were cast among the British of- 
ficers held as prisoners, ( at this time con- 
fined at Lancaster, Pa.,) and the unfortu- 
nate victim was Captain Charles Asgill, 
( afterwards Sir Charles Asgiil ) of a noble 
family, at this time but nineteen years old 
He was among the prisoners captured at 
Yorktown, Va. 

The particulars of the casting of lots 
and the events consequent upon the selec- 
tion of Caj^tain Asgill, are of thrilling in- 
terest, and excited so much attention at 
the time that the celebrated Baron de 
Grimm speaking of the affair being made 
the ground work of a tiagedy brought out 
in Pans, in 1789, says: 

" The public prints all over Europe re- 
sounded with tlie unhappy catasti-ophe 
which for near eight months impended 
over the life of this young officer. The 
general curiosity in regai'd to the events 
of the war yielded, if I may say so, to the 
interest which young Asgill inspu'ed, and 
tie first question asked of all vessels from 
any port in North America, was always an 
inquiry as to the fate of that young man. 
It is know)i that Asgill was thrice con- 
ducted to the foot of the gibbet, and tliat 
thrice General Washington, who could not 
bring himself to commit the crime of pol- 
icy without a struggle, suspended his pun- 
ishment; his humanity and justice mad? 
him hope that the P^nglish general would 
deliver over to him the author of the 
crime Asgill was condemned to expiate.— 
Sir Henry Clinton, either ill-advised or 
insensible to the fate of young Asgill, per- 
sisted in refusing to deliver up the barbar- 
ous Lippincott. In vain the King of Eng- 
land, at whose feet the unfortunate family 
of AsgilU fell down, had given orders to 
surrender up to the Americans the author 
of a crime which dishonored the British 
nation ; George the Third was not obeyed. 
"In vain the States of Holland entreated 
the United States of America the pardon 
of the unhappy Asgill. The gibbet erected 
in front of his prison did not cease to offer 
to his eyes those dreadful preparations 
more awful than deafih itself. In these 
circumstances, and almost reduced to de 
spair, the mother of the unfortunate vic- 
tim bethought herself that the Minister of 
a King armed against her own nation, 
might succeed in obtaiviing . that which 
was refused her own King. Madam Asgill 



wrote to the French Minister, Count de 
Vergennes, a letter, the eloquence of which, 
independent of oratorical forms, is tliat of 
all people and languages, because it de- 
rives its power from the first and noblest 
sentiment of our nature." 

Before giving farther details of Captain 
Asgills' case, his mother's letters, and the 
course of the French court, of Gen, Wash- 
ington and of the Continental Congress re- 
lating to the affair, it would perhaps be 
proper to return tu Captain Huddy and 
recall the particulars of such of the events 
of his life as have been preserved. The 
following, a part of which at least will be 
familiar to most of our readers, comes first 
in order: 

Buddy's Capture and Execution. 

The next important affair in which we 
find Captain Huddy engaged, was in the 
defence of the military post at Toms Riv- 
er. As we gave elsewhere a detailed ac- 
count of t!ie attack of the British on tliis 
post, burning of the village, massacre of 
the men after asking for quarters, and oth- 
er particulars relating to this affair, it is 
not now necessary to repeal them, except 
af tiiey are incidentally given in some im- 
portant papers, which will be copied here- 
after. These papers contain many authen- 
tic, inteiesting particuliirs which should 
be preserved by the citizens of Old Mo.i- 
mouth. Before copying these, we quote 
the following extracts from " Howe's Col- 
lections :" 

While Huddy was confined on board 
the guardsliip, he was told by one of tlie 
refugees, that he was. to be hanged. " for 
he had taken a certain Philip White, a 
refugee in Monmouth county, cut off both 
his arms, broVe his legs, pulled out one of 
his eyes, damned him and bid him run." 
He answered, "It was impossible I could 
have taken Philip White, I being' a pris- 
oner in New York, closely confined, and 
for many days before he was made a pris- 
oner." .One or two of his., comrades cor- 
roborated this slatenient. Four days after 
( April 12th,) Huddy was taken, by 16 ref- 
ugees under Capt. Lippencott, to Gravelly 
Point, on the seashore , at the foot of Navi- 
sink liills, about a mile north of the Iligli- 
land lighthouse where he w^is deliberate- 
ly^ executed. He met his fate with an. ex- 
fo'S^grrliriary dejjree of firmness and sereni- 
ty.. It is said he even executed his will 
tender the gallows, up.6n the head of that 
b.arrel from which he was to make his exit, 
and in a hand writinsj fairer than usual. — 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



The following label was attached to his 

breast : 

" We, the refugees having long with 
grief, beheld the cruel murders of our 
brethren, and finding nothing but such 
measures daily carrying into execution ; 
we therefore determined not to suffer 
without taking vengeance for tlie numer- 
ous cruelties ; and thus begin, havmg 
made u^e of Capt, Euddy as the first ob 
ject to present to your view ; and further 
determine to hang man for man while 
there is a refugee living. 

"Up (tObs Huddy for Philip White." 

The gallows was formed of three rails, 
and stood on the beach, close to the sea. 
Tradition states that Capt. Lippincott, ob- 
serving reluctance in some of his men to 
take hold the rope, drew his sword and 
swore he would run the first through, who 
disobeyed orders. Three ol the party, 
bringing their bayonets to the charge, de- 
clared their determination to defend them- 
selves — that Huddy was innocent of the 
death of White, and that they would not 
be concerned in the murder of an inno- 
cent man. 

Tiie British version of the execution of 
Huddy will be given in the account of the 
trial of the refugee Captain Richard Lip- 
pincott. 

CAPT. JOSHUA HUDDV, THE HERO 
MARTYR 9F OLD MONMOUTH. 



MEETING AT FREEHOLD. 



As soon as the citizens of Old Monmouth 
received information of the barbarous mur- 
der of Capt. Huddy, a large meeting num- 
bering some four hundred of the most re- 
spectable citizens of the countv, assembled 
at Freehold to take appropriate action. — 
This meetinji; was held on the 14th of 
April, one day before Huddy's burial, and 
wiiile his corpse was lying at the Louse of 
Capt. James Greene. This meeting con 
sidered and approved the following ad- 
dress : 

To his Exc. llency George Washington, 
Esq., Commander in Chief of the com- 
bined Armies of America and France, 
acting in N.-rtli America, &c., &c., &c. 
Tiie inhabitants of the county of Mon- 
mouth, being assembled on account of the 
horrid and almost unparalleled murder of 
Capt. Joshua Huddy, by the refugees from 
New York, and as we presume by appro 
bation, if not by the express command or 



the British commander in chief. Sir Henry 
Clinton ; hold it as our indispensable duty, 
as well to the United States in general, as 
ourselves in particular, to show to your ex- 
cellency, that the aforesaid Captain Joshua 
Huddy, late commanding the post at Toms 
River, was after a brave and gallant de- 
fence made a prisoner of war, together 
with fifteen of his men, by a party of ref- 
ugees from New York, on Sunday, the 
24th of March, last past. That five of the 
said Huddy's men were most inhumanly 
murdered after the surrender ; that the 
next day at night, to wit, on Monday, the 
25th of March, aforesaid, the said Capt, 
Huddy and the other prisoners who had 
been spared from the bayonet, arrived at 
New York, and were lodged in the main 
gtxard, during that night ; thiit on Tuesday 
morning, t,ie 26th of the same month, the 
said Hviddy was removed from the main 
guard to the sugar house, where he was 
kept closely confined, until removed from 
thence to the provost guard, on Monday, 
April 1st, where he, the said Captain Hud- 
dy, wasclosely confined, until Monday, the 
8th of April, instant; when the said Cap- 
tain Huddy, with two other prisoners, was 
removed from the provost jail at New 
York, on board of a sloop, then lying at 
New York dock, was put in the hold of 
said sloop in irons ; and then the said 
Captain Huddy was told he was ordered 
to be hanged, although the said Captain 
Huddy had yiever been charged, or brought to 
any kind of trial. That the said Captain 
Huddy demanded to know upon what 
charge he was to be hanged ; that a refu- 
gee by the name of John Tilton, then told 
him that he, ( the said Captain Huddy 
meaning.) was to be hanged for that he 
had taken a certain refugee by the name 
of' Philip White, and that he, ( the said 
Captain Huddy, meaning,) had, after car- 
rying him, theaforesiid Philip White, five 
or six miles, cut off his ( the aforesaid 
Philip White's ) arms, broke both his legs, 
^lulled otit one of his eyes, and most cruel- 
ly murdered him, the aforesaid Philip 
White; and further said, that he, the 
aforesaid Captain Huddy, was ordered to 
be hanged for the murder aforesaid; that 
Cap". Huddy replied that he had never 
taken the aforesaid Philip White prisoner ; 
and further said, that he, the aforesaid 
Philip White was killed after he, the said 
Captain Huddy, was taken prisoner him- 
self, and was closely confined at New York 
at the time the said Philip White was kill- 
ed. Which in fact, and in truth, was ex- 



78 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



actly as the said Captain Huddy had relat- 
ed; for he, the aforesaid Philip White, was 
in New York, on Wednesday, the 27th of 
March, last past, and did oii the night of 
that day, sail from New York to Sandy 
Hook, where he lay until Friday, the 29tli 
of March ; that late tiie same night, he in 
comjjany with Aaron White, .lolin Fenni- 
more, negro Moses, John Worth ley, and 
one Isaac, all refugees, weighed anchor for 
Sandy Hook, and ran down to Long Branch, 
in the townehip of Slirewsbnry ; tliai the 
said Philip VVliite, ( so as aforesaid men- 
tioned to have been killed by the said 
Captain Huddy,) and the said negro Mo- 
ses, landed on Long Branch, in Shrews- 
bury afoiesaid, on Saturday morning, tiie 
30th of March ; he, the said .loihua Hud- 
py, being then a close prisoner in the su- 
gar house at New York. 

That he, the said Piiilip White, was 
taken pr<so ler on the same 30th of March, 
in the afternoon, and as a guard was con- 
ducting him, the aaid Piiilip Wliite to jail, 
the said Philip in attempting to escape, 
was killed by his guard. That on Friday, 
the twelfth instant, a party of refugees, 
said to iiave been commanded by a Capt. 
Richard Lippencott, brought the said Capt. 
Huddy over to the Highlands of Middle- 
town, lianged Inm at ten o'clock in the 
forenoon of the same day, and left him 
hanging until four o'clock in the after 
noon, witii the paper herewith annexed 
pinned upon his breast ; at which time a 
parly of the inhabitants having been in- 
formed of the cruel murder, went to the 
place of his execution, and cut the unhap- 
py victim from the gallows. 

These bemg a state of induitable facts, 
fully proven, we do, as of right we may, 
look up to your excellency, as the person 
in whom the sole power of avenging our 
wrongs is lodged, and who has lull and 
ample authority to bring a British officer 
of the same rank to a similar end ; for 
what man after this instance of the most 
unjust and cruel murder, will presume to 
say that any officer or citizen, wliom the 
chance of war may put into the hands of 
the enemy, will not suffer the same igno 
minious death, on some such groundless 
and similar pretence. 

And we do with the fullest assurance 
rely upon receiving effectual support Irom 
your excellency, because, 

First, the act of hanging any person 
without any (even a pretended ) trial, is in 
itself not only disallowed by all civilized 
people, but is considered as barbarous in 



the extreme, and most certainly demands 
redress. 

Secondly, because the law of nature and 
of nations, points to retaliation as the only 
measure which can, in such cases, give 
any degree of security, that the practice 
shall not become general. 

Thirdly, because the honorable, the Con- 
tinental Congress, did on the 30th day of 
October, 1778, resolve in the following 
words : 

''We, therefore, the Congress of the 
United States of America, do solemnly 
declare and proclaim, that if our enemies 
{)resume to execute their threats, or persist 
m thei)' present career of barbarity, we 
will take such exemplary vengeance as 
shall deter others from a like conduct.— 
We appeal to that God who searcheth the 
hearts of men, for the rectitude of our in- 
tentions, and in his holy presence declare, 
that as we are not moved by any light and 
iiasty suggestions of anger or revenge, so 
through every possible change of fortune, 
we will adhere to this, our determination." 

Fourthly, because the minds of the peo- 
ple are justly irritated, and if they have 
not compensation through a public chan- 
nel, they may, in vindicating themselves, 
open to view a scene at which humanity 
itself may shudder. 

The al)Ove and within, was read to, con- 
sidered of, and approved, by upwards of 
four hundred respectable citizens. 

Ordered hy them, that the Committee by 
us appointed, do in our names sign it. 

Ordered. That General Forman and Col. 
Holmes be requested to wait on his excel- 
lency, General Washington, with it, and 
that they do wait his excellency's final 
determination. 

Monmouth, April 14, 1782. 
John Covenhoven, Samuel Forman, 
Thomas Seabrook, William Wilcocks, 
Peter Forman, Asher Holmes, 

Richard Cox, Llisha Walton, 

Joseph Stillvvell, Stephen Fleming, 
Barnes Smock, John Smock, 

John Schanck. Thomas Cbadwick. 

Accompanying the address is a copy of 
the label ( elsewhere given ) fastened to 
Huddy 's breast. The committee appoint- 
ed to wait on General Washington, in ad- 
dition to the foregoing address, furnished 
him with the affidavits of Aaron White, 
John North, William Borden and John 
Russell, in relation to Philip White's case. 
These have been given in speaking of Phil- 
ip White. They also furnished the affida- 
vit of Daniel Randolph, a copy of which will 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



79 



begiven hereafter. When General Washing- 
ton received their papers, he at once trans- 
mitted them to the President of Congress, 
with the following letter : 

Head Quarter*, | 
Newburgh, April 20, 1782. j 

Sir : — The enclosed papers, which I have 
the honor to transmit to your excellency, 
contain a state of facts, with their testi- 
monials, respecting the death of Captain 
Joshua Huddy ; who after being a prison- 
er sume days, with the enemy at New 
York, was sent out with a party of refu 
gees, and most cruelly and wantonly hang- 
ed on the heights of Middletown. 

This instance of barbarity, in my opin- 
ion, calls loudly for retaliation ; previous 
however, to adopting that measure, ami 
for my own justification, in the judgment 
of an impartial world, I have made a rep- 
resentation by letter, (a copy ot which is 
herein transmitted,) to Sir Henry Clititon, 
and have demanded from him, the actual 
perpetrators of this horrid a-^t. 

If, by Sir Henry's refusal. I s-hould be 
driven to an net of retaliation, a Bsitish 
officer of equal rank must atone foi- the 
death of the unfortunate Huddy. 

Happy, if I find that my resolutions 
meet the approbatinn of Congrcsf, I have 
the honor to be, with the sentiments ot 
sincere resuect and esteem, Youi' Excel 
lency's inost obedient, and most humble 
servant, (iEU. WASHINGTON. 

His Excellency, the President of Con- 
gress. 



CAPT. JOSHUA HUDDY, THE HERO 
MARTYR OF OLD MONMOUTH. 



AFFIDAVIT OF DANIEL RANDOLPH 
ESQ., OF TOMS RIVER. 



vSt.\te of New Jersey, ) 

Monmouth County, J 
Personally appeared before me, David 
Forman, Esq.. Judge of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, of the county aforesaid, Daniel 
Randol[)h, Esq., o'" full age, who, being 
duly sworn according to law, deposeth 
and saith, that he, this deponent, did 
reside at Toms River, in the county afore- 
said ; that on Saturday nikdit of the 23d 
of March, they, the inhabitants of Toms 
River, aforesaid, were informed by Cap 
tain Joshua Huddy, then commanding 
the guard at that post, that he, the afore- 



said Captain Joshua Huddy, had informa- 
tion that a body of refugees were ap- 
proaching to attack that iwst ; that this 
deponent did join himself to the guard ; 
that just as day befzan to appear on Sun- 
day morning. Captain Huddy detached a 
party of his guard to make a discovery, 
where the enemy were, and to bring him 
accounts; that as this deponent expects, 
and believes the guard so sent out, as 
aforesaid, entirely missed the enemy, for 
that soon after, viz: before it was yet broad 
dayliiiht, the enemy appeared in front of 
their small and unfinished block liouse, 
and immediatelv commenced an attack, 
without any previous demand ot a surren- 
der ; that Capt. Huddy, aforesaid, dia all 
that a brave man could do, to defend him- 
self against so tuiserior a number; that 
after qtxarters were called f)r, and the 
bluckhuuse surrendered, this deponent 
saw a negro, one of tlie refugee party, 
bayonet Major John Cooke, and he also 
saw a r umber of the refugees, as aforesaid, 
jump into the blockhouse, and heard them 
say that they would bayonet them, but 
this deponent did not see the deed done 
to any other person but. Major John 
Cooke. This deponent further saith, that < 
the same day, viz : Sunday, the 24th day 
of Mirch, they were carried on board the 
refugees' boats, and arrived iit New York 
the evening of the same day ; that he, 
this deponent, Capt. Huddy, und the other 
prisoners, were th it night lodged in the 
main guard at New York ; that on Mon 
day morning, the 25th pif March, afore- 
said. Captain Huddy, this dejionent, and 
the other prisoners, were carried and con- 
fined in the sugar house, where they re- 
mained close confined, until Monday, the 
1st day of April ; that on Monday, the 1st 
day of April, instant, afor-said, Capt, 
Hudtly, this deponent, and tbe other 
pritoriii^rs, aforesaid, were removed from 
the sugar house, aforesaid, to the provost 
guard at New York, aforesaid, and were 
there closely coiifined, until Monday, the 
8th of Api'il, instant, when this deponent, 
Capt. Joshua Huddy. and a certain Jacob 
Fleming, were taken out of the provost 
guard, aforesaid, and carried immediitely 
on board a sloop, put down in her hold, 
and ironed ; the aforesaid Jost/ua Huddy 
having irons on both feet and both hantls 
And further, this deponent saith, that a 
certain refugee, called John Tilton, told 
the aforosaici Capt. Joshua Huddy, that 
he, the aforesaid Joshua Huddy, was or- 
dered to be hanged ; that the aforesaid 



80 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



Capt. Huddy, then asked the aforesaid 
John Tilton, what charge was brought 
against him : that the aforesaid Tilton re- 
plied, for that he, the aforesaid Capt. Hud- 
dy, had taken a certain Phihp White 
prisoner, and after carrying him, the afore- 
said Philip White, six miles up in the 
country, that he, the aforesaid Capt. Hud 
dy, had cut off both his, (the aforesaid 
Philip White's,) arms, broke both his, (the 
aforesaid Philip White's,) legs, pulled out 
one of the aforesaid Philip White's eyes, 
and then had damned him, the aforesaid 
Philip White, and bade him run ; that he, 
the aforesaid Captain Huddy replied, and 
said, he never had taken Philip White ; 
and moreover said, that it was impossible 
that he could have taken him, for that he, 
the aforesaid White was taken and killed, 
while he, the aforesaid Huddy, was a pris- 
oner closely confined m New York. This 
deponent further saith, that he, this de- 
ponent, so said that the aforesaid White, 
was taken and killed, while Capt. Huddy 
was a prisoner, and therefore could not 
possibly be chargeable ; upon which this 
deponent was told that he, this deponent 
should be hanged next ; further this de- 
ponent saith that the aforesaid Capt. Hud- 
dy, was frequently charged with the mur^- 
der of the aforesaid Philii) White, in man- 
ner and form aforesaid. This deponent 
saith that he and Capt. Huddy were kept 
in irons, on board the sloop aforesaid, un- 
til they were put on board the guard ship 
at Sandy Hook, which was done on Tues- 
day evening, the 9th instant; that on 
board this guard ship, this deponent. Cap- 
tain Hviddy, and Jacob Fleming, were con- 
fined between decks until Friday, the 
12th instant; that on Friday, the 12tli inst., 
some men, strangers to this deponent, 
came between decks and told him, the 
said Capt. Huddy, to be prepared to be 
hanged immediately, for having murdered 
Philip White, as aforesaid, and took off 
the said Cai>t. Huddy's irons ; that Capt. 
Huddy again said he was not guilty of 
having killed the albresaid White, and 
should die innocent, and in a good cause ; 
and with uncommon composure of mind 
and fortitude, prepared himself for his end; 
that they, then for the first time since the 
capture of this deponent, and the said 
Capt. Huddy, took the aforesaid Capt. 
Huddy from this deponent. That about 
noon of the same day, the aforesaid John 
Tilton told tliis deponent, that he, the 
aforesaid Capt. Joshua Huddy was hanged, 
and further said he, that Capt. Hud- 



dy died iviih the -firmness of a lion. Further, 
this deponent saith, that the aforesaid 
Capt. Joshua Huddy was never taken from 
him, this deponent, until he was taken off 
to be executed, and that he, the aforesaid 
Captain Huddy, never was called to any 
kind of trial, or allowed to make any de- 
fence ; and lastly, this deponent saith, the 
corpse of the said Cajjtain Joshua Huddy 
is now at the house of Capt. James Greene, 
and that he verily believes he came to his 
death by being hanged. 

DANIEL RANDOLPH. 
Sworn before me, this 15th of April, 1782, 
David Fokman, Judge of the C't of C. P. 



A COUNCIL OF WAR. 



The execution of Huddy was regarded 
by tfie Commander-in-Chief as a matter of 
such high import, that, in anticipation of 
the action of Congress upon his letter, he 
had directed that the general oflScers of 
the army, and the officers commanding 
brigades and regiments, should assemble 
at West Point, and decide on what meas- 
ures should be adopted. On the 19th day 
of April, tha meeting was held at the 
quarters of General Heath, when the fol- 
lowing questions propounded by Wash- 
ington were stated : 

" Shall there be retaliation for the mur- 
der of Huddy ?'' 

" On whom shall it be inflicted ?" 

" How shall the victim be designated !" 

General Heath in his Memoirs describes 
the deliberations of the ofBcers as inde- 
pendent of each other ; no conversation 
was permitted between them on the ques- 
tion submitted, but each one was to write 
his own 0}iinion, seal it itp, and address it 
to the Commander-in-Chief. By this i>ro- 
cess, it was found the decision was unani- 
mous that retaliation should take jjlace ; 
that it should be inflicted on an officer of 
equal rank ; and the designation should 
be made by lot from among the prisoners 
of war who had surrendered at discretion, 
and not under convention or cai)itulation 

This decision was approved by Washing- 
ton, who gave immedifito information of 
his intention to retaliate, to the British 
Cammander, unless the perpetrator of the 
bloody deed shotild be given uj) for execu- 
tion. 

No farther action for a time was taken, 
that Sir Henry Clinton might have oppor- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



' 81 



tunity to decide upon Washington's de- 
uaand. 

In the meantime occurred the following 
proceedings in Congress. 

Proceedings in Congress, AjDril, 1782. 

The letter of General Washington to 
Congress, when received, was referred to 
a Committee consisting of Mr. Boudinot, 

Mr. Scott and Mr. Bee. The committee 
reported on the 20th day of April, 1782, 
and the following proceedings were then 
had : 

A letter of the 20th, from the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, was read together with a 
memorial from the inhabitants of the 
county of Monmouth, in the State of New 
Jersey, and sundry affidavits, respecting 
the death of Capt. Joihua Huddy, who 
after beini; a prisoner some days with the 
enemy in New York, was sent out by a 
party of refugees, and wns most cruelly 
and wantonly hanged on the heights of 
Middletown. 

These papers being committed, and the 
committee having reported thereon : 

Resolved, That Congress having de- 
liberately considered the matter and the 
paper attending it, and being deeply im- 
pressed with the necessity of convincing 
the enemies of these United States, by the 
most decided conduct, that the repetition 
of their unprecedented and inhuman cru- 
elties, so contrary to the laws of nations 
and of war, will no longer be suffered with 
impunity, do unanimously approve of the 
firm and judicious conduct of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief in his application to the 
British Gen. of New York ; and do here- 
by assure him, of their firmest support in 
his fixed purpose of exemplary retalia- 
tion. 

General Washington to Sir Henry 
Clinton. 
Head-Quarters, ] 

April 21st, 1782. j 
Sir : — The enclosed representation from 
the inhabitants of the county of Mon- 
mouth, with testimonials to the facts, 
(which can be corroborated by other un- 
questionable evidence,) will bring before 
your excellency, the most v.aiton, unpre- 
cedented, and inhuman murder that ever 
disgraced the arms of a civilised p' »ple, 

I shall not, because I conceive it alto- 
gether unnecessary, trouble your excel- 
lency with any animadversions upon this 
transaction. Candor obliges me to be ex- 



plicit. To save the innocent, I demand 
the guilty. Capt. Lippencott therefore, or 
the officer who commanded, at the execu- 
tion of Captain Huddy, must be given up: 
or if that officer was of inferior rank to- 
him, so many of the perpetrators as will, 
according to the tariff of exchange, be 
equivalent. 

To do this, will mark the justice of your 
excellency's character; on the fnilure of 
it I shall feel myself justifiable in the 
eyes of God and man, for the measure to 
which I shall resort. 

I beg your excellency to be pursuaded, 
that it cannot be more disagreeable to you 
to be addressed in this language, than it 
is for me to offer it; but the subject re- 
quii'cs frankness and decipion. 

I have to request your speedy deter- 
mination, as my resolution is suspended 
but for your answer. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your excel- 
lency's most obedient servant. 

GEO. WASHINGTON. 
His Excellency, Sir Henry Clinton. 

Sir Henry Clinton replied to Gen. Wash- 
ington on the 25th of April. He express- 
ed surprise at the strong language which 
had been used. He refused to give up 
the perpetrator of the murder, but inform- 
ed the American commander, that he had 
ordered a court martial to examine the 
charge against Capt. Lippencott before 
he received the letter. He did not pre 
tend to justify the conduct of the loyalists, 
and expressed his regret for the fate of 
the sufferer. On the Ist of May, General 
Robertson, who had succeeded Clinton, 
reiterated the same sentiments which had 
been previously expressed by his prede- 
cessor, but still the culprit was protected 
in New York ; and the American com- 
mander replied, in the strongest terms, 
that he had resolved upon retaliation, and 
given orders that a British officer should 
be designated to suffer. When Sir Guy 
Carleton took comm-ehd of the British 
forces, in May, he communicated to Gen- 
eral Washington his intention to preserve 
" the name of every Englishman from re- 
proach, and to pursue every measure that 
might tend to prevent these criminal ex- 
cesses in individuals." He did not hesi- 
tate '' to conr^emn the many unauthorized 
acts of violence, which had been commit- 
ted," and concluded that . he should do 
every thing to mitigate the evils of war. — 
Fiom these extracts, as well as the history 
of that daj'', it is evident that the British 
commander disavowed any participation 



!0- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



in the death of Huddy, on the part of the 
British authorities. And it is said, by Dr. 
Thatcher, that the British Government 
were inclined to direct that Lippenctt 
should be jriven up to Gen. Washington, 
but were finally prevented by the influ- 
ence of the American loyalists, (or refu- 
gees. ) 

Baron de Grimm, in his celebrated 
Memoris, states, wiihou^ any qualifications, 
that George III gave orders '■'that the author 
of a crime which dishonored the English nation, 
.should be given up for pvnishme.nt,'" but he 
was not obeyed. It is highly probably tliat 
this statement is true ; the writer recorded 
it in 1775, and from the advantageous posi- 
tion he occupied, must be presumed to 
have known the fact. (vol. iv. p. 272. ) 

The people of New Jersey were exas- 
perated beyond measure at the bloody 
catastrophe ; but when it was ascertained 
that the murderer would not be surren- 
dered or punished, their indignation 
prompted the bold attemi>t to seize the 
miscreant by force. To efiect this pur- 
pose, Capt. Adam Hyler, of New Bruns- 
wick, having ascertained that Lippencott 
resided in Broad street. New York, with a 
crew disguised as a British press gang, 
left the Kills at dark, in a single boat, and 
arrived at White Hill about nine o'clok. 
Here he left the boat in charge of a few 
men, and passed directly to Lipp^ncott's 
house, where, on inquiry, it was ascertain- 
ed he had gone to Cock Pit. (Naval Mag. 
Nov., 1839.) The expedition of course 
failed ; but the promptness with which it 
was conducted, proves the devotion of the 
brave men who were engaged to the com- 
mon cause, and their execration of Huddy's 
assassin. 

(Capt. Adam I Tyler, above referred to, 
is the one who commanded the barge 
taken by the British at Toms River. In 
their accounts they boasted, it will be re- 
membered, of capturing "one of llyler's 
barges." We hai'e accounts of a large 
number of the exploits of Hylcr, in the 
waters around Old Monmouth, which we 
trust to find room for at some tiuie, for it 
is rare to find, in hict or fiction, more skil- 
fully planned and fearlessly executed 
deeds than those performed by ('apt. 
Adam Hyler and his heroic companioll^s. ) 

CASTlNd LOTS. 

Exciting Scene— Captain Asgill the Vic- 
tim — .\ffecting [ncidfMits— Courts of Eu- 
roi)e Excited. 



The demand for Lijopencott having been 
refused. General Washingten, on the 4th 
of May, directed Brigadier General Hogan 
to designate by lot, from among the pris- 
oners at either of the posts in Pennsylva- 
nia or Maryland, a British Captain who 
had been unconditionally surrendered ; as 
it was ascertained that no such officer was 
in his power, a second order was issued on 
the thirteentn of May, extending the .se- 
lection to the officers who had been made 
prisoners by convention or capitulation. — 
Under this last despatch, the British Cajv 
tains, who had been captured at York- 
town, were assembled at Lancaster, Penn- 
sylvania, and the lot fell upon Captain As- 
gill. 

Charles Asgill was a Captain of the 
guards, of a noble family, and at the time 
he was designated to suffer, but ninetee»i 
years of age. lie was captured at York- 
town, confined during the winter of 1781- 
82 at Winchester, in Virginia, and had 
been removed but a short time to York, 
Pennsylvania, when the lot was cast against 
him. The officers from whom the victim 
was to be selected, were ordered to Lan- 
caster, and were there informed by Gener- 
al Hogan the object for which thev were 
assembled. Major Morgan, who was the 
senior British otlicer at that place, remon- 
strated, and used the following language : 

"Ttiese gentlemen form but a small pro- 
portion, out of the total number of Cap- 
tains who became prisoners at Yorktown, 
and I am sure, if time be afforded, there is 
not one of their comrades who will not 
hasten, even from England, for the pur- 
pose of placing himself by their side, in so 
trying an emergency, and staking his life 
with theirs.'" 

The (reneral, however, replied his orders 
were peremptory, but feelingly remarked, 
"when the lot has been declared on whom 
this blow shall fall, then you may rely 
upon it that every indulgence shall be 
shown which you could e.xpect, or my 
own feelings dictate.'' The ceremony is 
minutely described by an eye witness, the 
lale Gen. Graham, Lieutenant (Governor of 
Sterling ( astle, who've manuscript is pub- 
lished in the United Service Journal, Novem- 
ber, I S;U. To use his language : " 

"The excitement of the scene was now 
ov<'r, and we gazed ui)on poor Asgill with 
n liitterness and intensity of feeling, such 
as defied control. He was barely nine- 
teen vearsofago; livclv. bravi% Iiandsome: 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



83 



an only son. as we all knew, and an espe 
cial favorite with his comrades. To see 
him as we did, at that moment, in the full 
bloom of youth and beauiy, and to know 
that his days, nay, his hours, were num- 
bered — that was a demand upon the forti- 
tude of those who loved him, suoli as they 
could not meet. We lifted up our voices 
and wept ; and while a warm pressure of 
the hand was exchanged with each in his 
turn, the object of so much commiseration 
found it no easy matter, himself, to restrain 
his tears. Nor, to do them justice, were 
the Americans, either within or without 
the house, inditterent spectators to the 
drama. The Brigadier at once consented 
to delay the removal of the victim till the 
following morning ; and readily granted a 
pass{)ort to enable an officer to set out on 
the instant for New York." 

Captain Asgill was conducted to Pliila- 
delphia, and from thence was removed to 
C'hatham. He was accompanied by his 
friend, Major Gordon, who attended him 
with the devotion of a parent to a cliild. 

In the meanwhile the execution was 
suspended, but every effort was exerted, 
every plan that ingenuity could devise or 
sympathy suggest, adopted to save tlie in- 
nocent sufferer. Major Gordon appealed to 
the French Minister, then in Pliiladelphia; 
he wrote to the Count de Rochembeau, 
and despatched messengers to numerous 
influential Whigs throughout the Colo- 
nies, to interest them in behalf of his 
friend ; and so eloquent and importunate 
were his appeala, that it is said by General 
Graham, " thpt even tliefrtmily of Captain 
Kuddv became themselves sup]>liants in 
Asgill's favor.'" These untiring exertions, 
unquestionably contributed to postpone 
the fate of the victim, until the final and 
successful intercession of the Fiench Court 
obtained his release. 

When Lady Asgill heard of the peril 
whicli impended over her son, her husband 
was exhausted by disease, and wliile the 
effect of the intelligence was pent power- 
fully up in her mind, it produced delirium 
in tliat ot her daughter; under all tliese 
embarrassments she applied to King 
(leorge the III, wlio, it is said, ordered 
the cause of this measure of retaliation, 
the wretched Lippencott, to be delivered 
up. wliich Clinton contrived to avoid. She 
did not cease lier importunities, until she 
had dictated ihe following letter to the 
Count de Vergennes, who laid it before 
the King and <,},ueen of France, and was 



immediately directed to communicate with 
General Washington, and implore the re- 
lease of the sufferer. A letter, says the 
Baron de Grimm, "the eloquence of which, 
independent of oratorical forms, is that of 
all people, and all languages, because it 
derives its power from the first and noblest 
sentiment of our nature." 

Lady Asgill to Count de Vergennes. 
Eloquent Pleadings of a Mother for the 

Life of an only Son. 

Sir : — If the politeness of the French 
court will permit a stranger to address it, 
it cannot be doubted but that she who 
unites in herself all the more delicate sen- 
sations with which an individual can be 
penetrated, will be received favorably by a 
nobleman who reflects honor not only on 
his nation, but on human nature. The 
subject on which I implore your assistance 
is too heart-rending to be dwelt upon ; 
most probably the public report has al- 
ready reached you. This relieves me from 
the burden of so mourniul a duty. My 
son, my only son, dear to me as he is brave, 
amiable as h3 is beloved, only nineteen 
years of age, a prisoner of war, in conse- 
quence of the capitulation of Yorktown, is 
at present confined in America as an ob 
ject of reprisals. 

Shall the innocent suffer the fate of the 
guilty ? Figure to yourself, sir, the situa- 
tion of a family in these circumstances. — 
Surrounded as I am with objects of dis- 
tress, bowed down by fear and grief, words 
are wanting to express what I feel, and to 
paint such a scene of misery ; my husband 
given over by his physicians some hours 
before the arrival of this news, not in a 
condition to be informed of it; my daugh- 
ter attacked by a '"ever, accompanied with 
delirium ; speaking of her brother in tones 
of wildness and without an interval of rea- 
son, unless it be to listen to some circum- 
stances which may console her heart. Let 
your sensibility, sir, paint to you my pro- 
found, my inexpressible misery, and plead 
in my favor. A word — a word from you, 
like a voice from heaven, would liberate 
us from desolation, from the last degree of 
misfortune. I know how far General 
VV'ashington reverences your character. — 
Tell liim only that you wish my son re- 
stored to liberty, and he will restore him 
to his desponding family ; he will restore 
him to happiness. The virtue and cour- 
age of my son will justify this act of clem- 
ency. His honor, cir, led him to America; 
he was born to abundance, to independ- 



84 



• OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ence, and to the happiest prospects. Per- 
mit me once more to entreat the interfer- 
ence of your high influence in favor of in- 
nocence, and in the cause of justice, of 
humanity. Despatch, sir, , a letter from 
France to General Washington, and favor 
me with a copy of it, that it may be trans- 
mitted from hence. I feel the whole 
weight of the liberty taken in presenting 
this request; but I feel confident, whether 
granted or not, that you will pity tlie dis- 
tress by which it is suggested ; your hu- 
manity will drop a tear on my fault and 
blot it out forever. 

May tiiat heaven which I implore, grant 
that you may never need the consolation 
which you have it in your power to bestow 
on. Theresa Asgill. 



A NOBLEMAN TELLS ASG ILL'S 
STORY. 



Excitement in Holland and throughout 
Europe — The Gibbet— Asgill thrice con- 
duced to it — Intense anxiety in Eurojje 
to hear of his fate, &c. 

The statement of Captain Asgill's case 
would not be complete without tlie follow- 
ing extract, which contains some interest- 
ing facts not elsewhere given. It is from 
Baron de Grimm, who was led to notice 
the case on account of its b^inji made the 
ground work of a tragedy called " Abdir," 
by de Sauvigny, represented in Paris in 
January, 1780. 

" You can well remember the general 

interest which Sir Asgill inspired, a 

young officer in the English guards, wlio 
was made prisoner and condemned to 
death by the Americans, in reprisal for 
the death of Capt. Iluddy, who was hanged 
by order of Capt. Lippencott. The public 
prints all over Europe resounded with 
the unhappy catastrophe, which for eight 
months impenled over the life of tliis 
young officer. The extreme grief of his 
mother, the sort of delirium which cloud- 
ed the mind of his sister, at hearing the 
dredful fate which menaced tlie life of 
her brother, interested every feeling mind 
in the fate of that unfortunate family. The 
general curiosity in regard to the events 
of the war, yielded, if I may say so, to the 
interest which young Asgill inspired, and 
the first question asked of all vessels that 



arrived from any port in North America, 
was always an inquiry into the fate of that 
young man. It is known that Asgill was 
thrice conducted to the foot of the gibbet, 
and that thrice Gen. WashingtoiT, who 
could not bring himself to commit this 
crime of policy without a great struggle, 
suspended his punishment : his humanity 
and justice made him hope that the P^n- 
glish general would deliver over to him 
the author of the crime Asgil was con- 
demned to exj^iate. Sir Henry Clinton, 
either ill advised or insensible to the fate 
of young Asgill, persisted in refusing to 
deliver up the barbarous Lippencott. In 
vain the King of England, at whose feet 
the unfortunate family fell down, had 
given orders to su' render up to the Ameri- 
cans the author of a crime which dishon- 
ored the English nation : George the 3d, 
was not obeyed. In vain the State of 
Holland entreated the United States of 
America the p.rdon of the unhappy As- 
gill. The gibbet, erected in front of his 
prison, did not cease to offer to his <ye« 
those dreadful preparatives, more awful 
ihan death itself. In these circumstances, 
and almost reduced te despair, the mother 
of the unfortunate victim beihonght her- 
self that tlie Minister of a King, armed 
against her own nation,, miglit succeed in 
obtaining that which was refused to her 
King, Madam Asgill wrote tothe Cnuntde 
Vergennes a letter, the eloquence of vvhicli, 
independent of oratorical forms, is that of 
all people and languages, because it de- 
rives its powe-r from the first and noblest 
sentiment of our nature." 

For seven months, the fate of this intei- 
M esting young officer remained suspended, 
when, cheitfly through the intercession of 
the French Court, he was set at liberty. — 
The following are the proceedings of Con- 
gress directing his discharjje : 

Till RSD.AV, Novembe'' 7th, 1782. 
On the repoit of the Committee, con- 
sisting of Mr. lUitledge, Mr. Osgood, Mr. 
Montgoniery, Mr. Boudiirot, and Mr. 
Duane, to whom were referred the ielter 
of the 19th of August la'^t, from the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, the report of a committee 
thereon, and the motives of Mr. William 
son and Mr. Kutledge; and also, another 
letter^ (rom the Commander-in Chief, with 
a copy of a letter to him from the Count 
de Vergennes, dated July 29th last, inter- 
ceeding for Capt. Asgill : 

Resolved. That the Commander in-Chief 



OLL) TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



be, and he hereby is directed, to set Cap- 
tain Asgill at liberty?" 

A copy of the foregoing proceedings and 
resolutions was forwarded by Gen. Wash- 
ington to Capt. Asgill, together with a let- 
ter, given below, which exhibits the moral 
excellence, the great and commanding at- 
ribiites that always distinguished the 
Father of liis Countrj\ "The decision of 
Gen. Wiisliington in this delicate aftair, 
tlie deep interest felt by the American 
people for theyoiithfui sufferer, the pathet- 
ic appeals of Lady Asgill to the Count de 
Vergennes in behalf of her son, (in the 
language of Congress, in 1837,) forms one 
of the most impoitant and instructive 
portions of revolutionary history.'' 

Gexerai. Washington to Captain Asgill. 

SiK: — It affords me singular satisfaction 
to liave it in my power to transmit to you 
the enclosed copy of an act of Congress of 
the 7th inst., by which you are reli^^ved 
from the disHgreeable circumstances in 
which you have been so long. Suppos- 
ing that you would wish to go to New 
York as soon as possible, I al-*o enclose a 
passport for that pur])Ose. Your letter of 
ihe 18th came regularly to my hands. I 
beg of you to believe that my not answer- 
ing it sooner did not proceed from inat 
tention to you, or a want of feeling for 
your situation- but I daily expected a de- 
termination of your ca"se and I thought it 
better to awa.t that, than to feed you witii 
hopes tha"; miLdit in the end prove fruit- 
less. You will attribute my detention of 
thf enclosed letters, which have been in 
my possession a fortnight, to the same 
(viuse. I cannot take leave of you, sir, 
without assuring y6u that, in vvhatever 
light my asency in this unpleasant affair 
may be viewed, I was never influenced 
throughout the whole of it Uy sanguinary 
motives, but what I conceived to be a 
sense of duty, wliich loudly called upon 
me to use measures, however disagreeable, 
to prevent a repetition of those enormities 
wliich liave been the subject of discussion ; 
and that this important f^Ld is likely to b« 
answered without the effusion of the blood 
of an innocent person, is not a greater re- 
lief to you that it is to me. 

Sir, &c. George Wasuington. 

Immediately after this letter released 
him, Cuptain Asgill prejiartd himself to 
return to England, arid in a short time 
embaiked. The following letters from 



his mother exhibi<^ a tone of high-wrought 
gratitude that was worthy of her exalted 
spirit : 
Second Letter of Lady Asgill to Count de 

Vergennes — Outpourings of a Grateful 

HeaVt. 

Exhausted by long suffering, overpow- 
ered by an excess of unexpected happiness, 
confined to my bed by weakness and lan- 
guor, bent to the eartJi bj' what I have un- 
dergone, my sensibility alone could supply 
me with strength sufficient to address 
you. 

Condescend, sir, to accept this feeble 
effort of my gratitude. It has been laid 
at the feet of the Almighty ; and believe 
me, it has been presented with the same 
sincerity to you, sir, and to your illustrious 
sovereigns. By their august and salutary 
intervention, as by your own, a son is re- 
stored to me, to whom my whole life was 
attached. I have tlie sweet arsurance 
that my vows for my protectors are heard 
by the Heaven to whom they are ardently 
offered. Yes, sir ; they will produce their 
effect before the dreadful and last tribu- 
nal, wtiere I indulge in the hope that we 
shall both meet together — you to receive 
the recompense of your virtues; myself, 
that of my sufferings. I will raise my 
voice to that imposing tribunal ; I will 
call for those sacred registers in which 
your humanity will be found recorded — I 
j will pray that blessings may be showered 
j on your head — upon him, who, availing 
himself of the noblh'st privileges received 
from God — a privilege no other tlian di- 
vine — has changed misery into happiness, 
has withdrawn the sword from the inno- 
cent head, and restored the worthiest of 
sons to the most tender and unfortunate 
of mothers. 

Condescend, sir, to accept this ju°t tri- 
bute of gratitude due to your virtuous 
sentiments. Preserve this tribute, and 
may it go down to your posterity as a testi- 
mony of your sublime and exemplary 
beneficence to a stranger, whose nation 
was at war with your own, but whose ten- 
der aff ctions had not been destroyed by 
war. May this tribute bear testimony to 
my gratitude, long after the hand which 
expresses it with the heart, which at this 
moment only vibrates with the vivacity of 
grateful sentiments, shall be reduced to 
dust; even to the last day of my existence, 
it shall beat but to offer you all the re- 
spect and all the gratitude with which it 
is penetrated. Thehesa Asgill. 



86 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



LADY ASGILL TO MAJOR GORDON. 



A Grateful Mother to a True and Tried 
Friend of her Son. 

Sir : — If distress liice mine has left any 
expression but for grief, I sliould long 
since addressed myself to you, for whom 
my sense of gratitude makes all acknowl- 
edgments poor indeed. Nor is this the 
first attempt ; but you were too near the 
object, of my anguish to enter into the 
heart-piercing subject. I constantly pray- 
ed to Heaven that he might not add to 
his sufferings the knowledge of ours. He 
had too much to feel on his own account, 
and I could not have concealed the direful 
efiect of his misfortune on bis family, to 
whom he is as dear as he is worthy to be 
so. Tnfit as I am at this time, by joy 
almost as insupportable as the agony be- 
fore, yet sir, acc-^-j^t this weak effort from 
a heart deeply affected by your humanity 
and exalted conduct, as Heuven knows it 
has been torn by affliction. Believe me, 
sir, it will only cease to think in the lust 
moments of life, with the most grateful, 
affectionate, and respectiul sentiments to 
you. But a fortnight, since, I was sinking 
under a wretchedness I could no longer 
struggle with. Hope, resignation, had 
almost forsaken me. I began to experi- 
ence the greatf-st of all misfortunes— that 
of being no longer able to bear them. — 
Judge, sir, the transition the day after tlie 
blessed change takes place. My son is 
released; recovered; returned; arrived at 
my gate; in iny arms. I see nim unsub- 
dued in spirits, in health ; unreproached 
by himself, a])proved by his country in ; 
the bosom of tiis family, and without anx- 
iety, but for the happiness of his friend; 
without regret, but i'or having left him 
behind. Your humane feelings that have 
dictated your conduct, to him, injured and 
innocent as he was, surely will participate 
in our relief and joy. Be that pleasure 
yours, sir, as well as every other blessing 
that virtue like youis and Heaven can be- 
stow. This prayer is offered U(> for you in 
the heart of transport, as it was in the, bit- 
terness of my anguish. My gratitude has 
been soothed by the energy it has been 
offered with. It has ascended to the 
throne of mercy and is, f trust, accepted. 
Unfit as 1 am, lor nothing but suscei)tibil- 
ity so awakened as mine could enable me 
to write; and exhaust<-d by too loni; anx- 
iety ; confined at this time to a bed of 
.sickness and !Mn<_'uor — vet T fould not 



suffer .another interval to pass, without 
this weak efrbrt. Let it convey to you sir. 
the most heartfelt gratitude of my husband 
and dav.ghters. You have the resjject 
and esteem of all Europe, as an honor to 
your country and to human nature, and 
the most zealous friendship of, my dear 
and worthy Major Gordon, 

Your affectionate and obliged servant, 
Theresa Asoill. 

The fate of Captain Asgill, while it was 
suspended in doubt, " tilled the public 
i;)rints all over Europe witn anxious wishes 
for his release ;" and in the year 1785, 
when the excitement of a former period 
had subsided, the story of this intenaed 
reprisal was made the groundwork of a 
tragic drama by the celebrated French 
writer, M. de Sauvigny ; while in Ander- 
son's History of the American War, pub 
lished immediately after the peace, the 
author has deemed the incidents so mem- 
orable, that lie has given a portrait of the 
young Asgill in the costume of the day. 

While Captain Asgill's fatewa.s in doubt, 
the Britisli instituted acourtmarti.il to try 
Captain Lippencott, who was sui)pose(l to 
be the principal agent in the murder of 
liuddy. It will be seen, by extracts from 
the evidence of witnesses, hereafter given, 
that Governor Franklin, the President of 
the Board of Associated Royalists, gave 
veibal orders for the execution of Huddy, 
and that he afterwaids basely endeavored 
to throw the whole blanip on Lippencott. 
When Franklin gave the verbal or<iers, 
he designated Huddy as a proper subject 
for retaliation, as he said Huddy had been 
a chief prosecutor of refugees, and partic- 
ularly instrumental in lianging '^tei)hen 
Edwards, the refugee spy. Tlie decision 
of the court, will be given hereafter. It 
clenred Lippencott — perhai)s justly. If so, 
Gov. William Franklin should huve been 
hanged for Iluddy's murder. Sir Guy 
Carle- ton, who was the British commander 
at New York, wlien Lippencott was ac- 
quitted, appeared disposed to do justly, 
and assured Wa^^hington, "that notwiili- 
standing tlie acquittal of Lippencott, he 
repiobated the measure, and L'ave assur- 
ance of i)rosecuting a further inquiry." — 
Thanks to Sir Guy, he broke up tiiis Board 
of A.ssociated Royalists The war was 
about closing, and the necessities for retal- 
iation about over; and hence the request 
of the King and cineen of France, through 
Count Verirenne.s, for the release of A*gill, 
were favorably receiv(-d. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Petition to CoNYiKESS of Martha Piatt, 

Daughter of Captain Joshua Huddy, 

Presented December 21st, 1836. 

To the Congress of the United States : — 
Your Moinorialist, Martha Piatt, now 
residing in Cincinnati, State of Ohio, 
Respectfully represents : 

That she is the only surviving child of 
Captain Joshua lluddy, who was inhuman- 
ly put to death by a party of lories under 
the imniedi-ite command of Captain Lip 
pencott, in the month of April, 1782. 

Her deceased father, ever ready at the 
call of his country, had for from the com- 
mencement of the revolutionary war, Irom 
his devotion to the cause uf liberty, be- 
come obnoxious to the enemy, lie was 
nia''e a prisoner of war by the refugees, in 
March, 1^72, while he commanded a block- 
house in Monmouth county. N. J.: 
having dei'ended that post with great 
bravery, until his ammunition was entire- 
ly expended. He was then taken to New 
York, and detained in close confinement 
for two or three weeks, when, without 
form of trial, he was told that he was or- 
dered to be hanged. In pursuance of this 
lesolution, he was carried over to the New 
Jersey shore, and executed, in a manner 
so barbarous, that the anisals of savage 
warfju-e do not present an instnnce of hu- 
man sacrifice more wantonly cruel. 

This act. so dishonorable to the British 
character, (for Sir Heniy Clinton,- the 
Commander-in-Chief, refused to give up 
the perpetiator of the crin:!e), was not less 
disastrous to the family of the iamented 
patriot, who was not permitted to die a 
soldiers' death, much less to enjoy the 
last kinfl ulKces of those dear to him by 
the stronge.-it eartidy ties. The first in- 
telligence they received of his decease, 
wa.s that he hid perished on the scaffold. 
His widow left desolate, with two daugh- 
ters of tender age, in common with the 
highsouknl females of the revolution, 
trusted in Providence, and hoped that the 
country lor which her husband's life had 
been sacrificed, would not fortiet her or 
her children. 

The subject of Captain Huddy's mur- 
der, (for such is the appropriate name it 
deserves,) was referred to the American 
Congress by Gen. Washington, and the 
mode of retaliaiion he adopted unanimous- 
ly ap(..roved by that body ; and the people 
of New Jersey, roused by the bloody deed 
a sj)irif-stirring 



!o vengeance, adilressed 



memorial to the Commander-in-Chief, de- 
tailins the facts, and requiring exemplary 
as well as summary retributioii at his 
hand. While in obedience to these claims, 
a British officer was selected by lot, as the 
victim of retaliation, and while the melan- 
choly interest whicli youth and innocence 
associated with the name of Captain Asgill, 
excited the deep sympathy of the Ameri- 
can people ; while the heart-rending ap- 
peal ©f his noble mother to the Count de 
Vergennes. in behalf of her devoted son, 
induced the mediation of the French 
Court to effect his release; the name and 
fate of Capt. Huddy are only remembered 
as .nmong the many instances of cruelty 
incident to a state of war. And the wid- 
ow and the children of that martyred 
hero, have been left hitherto without the 
least token of the gratitude of their coun- 
try . 

Your petitioner appeals to the .Justice 
of Congress. Slie is now seventy years of 
age: her mother is dead, and her sister 
also ; she alone survives to feel anew the 
horrors of that dreadful moment, when 
she was told that she was fatherless, and 
that her gallant sire m^t the death of 
a malefactor; while his only crime wns 
his ardent attachment to the cause of 
American liberty. The gratitude of the 
country has been long deferred, and 
1 hough late, your petitioner asks, that in 
common with the representatives of her 
deceased sister, she may be allowed such 
sum in moncv, and such quantities of land 
as her father wouid h\ve been entitled to, 
had he served unril the conclusion of the 
revolutionary war. 

She commits iier appeal to Congress in 
the lull assurance that her claim will not 
be disregarded. And as in duty bound, 
i&c. Martha Piatt. 

This petition was presented to Congress 
December 21st, 1836, and referred to a 
special convnittee, consisting of Mr. Storer, 
ot Ohio; Mr. . Buchanan, of Penn.; Mr. 
Hardan, of Ky. ; Mr. Elmore, ofS. C. ; and 
Mr. Schenck, of N. J., in February follow- 
iuL', reported a bill extenaing to the heii's 
of Captain Huddy the benefits of existing 
pension laws, the same as if he had been 
in the regular army, and also granting 
them six hundred acres of land, and also 
paying the sum of twelve hundred dollars, 
being the sum due Captain Huddy for 
seven years' service as Captain of Artillery. 
The report of this committee, adopted 
by Congress Febiuary 14, 1837, is so ably 
written, and contains such vivid pictures 



0\A> 'I [.\IK8 IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



of Old Monmouth during the war, and of 
Captain Huddy's services and sacrifices 
tiiHt it is well worth perusal and preserva- 
tion, and we tlierefore append so much of 
it as has not a' ready been quoted. 

REPORT ADOPTED BY CONGRESS, 

IN RELATION TO PETITION OF 

MARTHA PIATT. 

Huddy's services appreciated by Congress — 
Graphic picture of affairs in Old Mon- 
mouth ; — Is the nation grateful ? — Elo- 
quent ext'acts. 

Tlie memorialist is the only surviving 
daughter of Captain Jushua Huddy of 
New Jersey, who was a soldier of the war 
of the revolution. Her father in 1776, 
was an officer in the militia of his native 
state, and in the autumn of 1777, was ap 
pointed by the Legislature to command a 
company of artillery, wlio were enlisted 
for twelve months. In 1779. he was en- 
gaged in the same duty ; and in 1781, the 
people of Monmouth Couiity, having le- 
oommeded him for the {)urpo.'e, he was se- 
lected to command the post at Toms Riv- 
er. While gallantly defedi.ing himself 
against a superior force, he was there 
taken prisoner in 1782. and reserved for 
an ign minious death on the scaffold. 

Tlie tours of duty thus detuiled, aro ex 
tracted trom ofiici 1 records, as will ap- 
pear by papfern attached to this report; 
but the histoiy of the whole war 'n that 
region, if it sliould be minutely described, 
was a series of bold and haziudous efforts 
to sustain the cause of liberty ; in all 
which Capt. Huddy was eminently con- 
spicuous. Brave, patriotic and persever- 
ing, he perilled liis propel ty and his life 
for his country, and at last perished in 
her defence. 

Perhaps the annals of ihe civilized 
world do not present a more melancholy 
spectacle than was exhibited in. New .Jer- 
sey, while the British array, occupied tiie 
city of New York. The people were all a 
arms, their substance wasted by the enemy, 
their farms unfilled their families, dispers- • 
ed. In iiddition to the constant and har- 
assing inroads of the Tiritisii, there was a 
fhe within her very borders more watch- 
ful and more relentless than the common 
enemy. Traitors to American liberty filled 
tlie land, willing to sacrifice their former 
friends to gratify their malignant passions, 
or to i)rove their loyalty to their King. — 
These men combined together for the 
avowed object of murder and plunder, | 



were to be met at all points ; and it re- 
quired the titmost energy, activity and ad- 
dress to oppose them. Their movements 
were sudden, and from their intimate 
knowledge of the country their march was 
often unknown until their object had been 
effected. Hence, the most untiring vigi- 
lance was required to counteract their 
plans ; and Ccipt. Huddy became so zeal- 
ously engaged as a partizan leader, that he 
was more obnoxious to the tories that any 
individual in the American service. To 
tliese de.^perate men, it was then all im- 
portant that one whcwii they so much 
dreaded should be deprived of power toop- 
pose them and no means were left unat- 
tempted to effect their purDose. 

(The report her^ proceeds to give an 
account of Capt. Huddy's capture, impris- 
onment and execution, which we have 
given elsewhere, after which it says: ) 

The documents which the committee 
have annexed to the report, minutely de- 
scribe the horrid tragedy, and they for- 
bear to sta e here the incidents which are 
there recorded in the language of eye wit 
nesses. riiere is sometlimg so revolting 
in the mode a brave soldier was doomed 
to die: something sofiendlikein the haste 
to saci ifice Iiiiu without tlie parting fare- 
well of Ids friends and the consolations of 
religion that no age hovvever barbarous 
can furnish a stronger 'nslance of refined, 
deliberate cruelty. Yet, even here, th? 
devoted sulfeier sustained his high ret u- 
tatioii for moral firmness and heroic devo- 
tion to liberty. Mr. Randolph testifies tlint 
when the refugees were taking the irons 
fiom Capt. Huddy, to conduct liim to the 
gallows, the brave man sai<l that be sh<^uld 
die innocent, and in a good cause; and 
with uncommon composure and fortitude, 
prepared himself for his end.' And to use 
the* language ot one who assisted at the 
execution, 'he met his fate with all the 
firmness of a lion.' His executioner was a 
negro. 

The immediate agent in this oeed of 
blood, was Richard Lippencott, .a native 
of New .Jersey, and then a Captain in the 
British service ; he was the instrument qi 
a board of assoiiated loyalfvts in New- 
York, at the head of wliich was William 
Franklin, once the royal Governor of New 
Jersey, and Sampson S. Blown s, formerly 
of Boston. Secretary. The members of 
this board, after the murder had taken 
place, endeavored for a time to deny that 
they had directed it: but the evidence ad 
duced on the trial of the perpetrator as 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



89 



well as on the subsequent publications of 
the loyalists themselves, abundantly prove 
that without the courage to act them- 
selves they had the baseness to authorize 
th*' deed to be committed and the mean- 
ness to attempt the concealment of their 
privitv to its perpetration. 

Immediately after the murdei', the peo- 
ple of Monmouth assembled and address 
ed to General Washington the spirit-stir- 
ring and oloquent memorial which he 
afterwards communicated to Congress, 
with the memorable correspondence which 
he held on the same subject with 8ir Hen- 
ry Clinton. These documents the com- 
mittee annex, and would recommend their 
persual, not only as an authentic narra- 
tive of facts, (which are buL ,ittle known 
at the present day,) but as proud exam- 
ples of the lofiy patriotism which distin- 
guished the men of llie revolution. 

(The committee here recite Washing- 
ton's measures for retaii;ition, and the 
action of the Congress of 1782, given else 
where, and then continue as follows : j 

It is painful to state that after a lapse 
of fifty years, while the story of Asgill's cap- 
tivity has been made the theme of the 
biographer and poet, the memory of the 
murdered Huddy h^s not been honored 
with an epitaph. His country it would 
seem, has outlived the recolleciion of his 
services and forgotten that such a victim 
was sacrificed for American liberty. The 
resolution of Congr^ ss, isdopted on the day 
subsequent to the discharge of Asgill, and 
which required thai, '"the British com- 
mander should be called to fulfil his engage 
meni to make further inquisition into the 
murder of Capt. Huddy and to pursue it 
with all the effect that a due legard of 
justice will admit," is yet unfulfilled and 
unrequited; and the only memorial *on 
the public journals of America, gratitude 
for the services of the livii.g and the chai- 
acter of the dead are resolutions of retalia- 
tion — none of sympathy or condolence. 

The committee in the consideration of the 
case, cannot account for i he silence of an 
Americ.m Congress u])on a claim Uke this 
present which the history of the revolution 
so amply established. It is true, his repre 
seiilatives have made no appeal until they 
ottered their memorial at this session, but 
it is believed the principles of natural 
justice are independent of all such agency. 
If their modesty has hitherio deterred 
them, it is at least the gratifyint; evidence 
tliat there is an American family who have 
forborne to remind the Legislature of the 



nation of its high duties and are contend- 
ed to await the judgment of their country- 
men, however tardy raay have been its 
annoucement. 

The children of Captain Huddy were 
both females, and were left at an early age 
to their mother's protection. She strug- 
gled as did the highsouled women of the 
revolution with the ordinary vicissitudes 
of war, and sustained himself by the pros- 
pect of future independence. When her 
gallant husband was in the field, she knew 
he was engaged in a holy cause and pre- 
jiared hei>elf for whatever result might 
occur ; bus when she found that she was 
left desoeate and the father of her children 
'• had been cruelly and wantonly murdered, 
she thenceforward lived but for them. — 
' These orphans after the return of peace 
] were married : one of them with her 
mother is dead ; the survivor, who is the 
memorialist, at the advanced age of seven 
I ty years, now resides in the west and asks, 
ere she joins those who have already de- 
parted, that the sufferings of her lathei 
might be remembered and tiis services, 
] even at this late day, requited by some 
token of national gratitude. 

As Captain Huddy was not in the regu- 
lar army there is no one of the resolutions 
of the old Congress that would include 
i ^his case, were it a claim for military ser- 
', vice merely. But when it ,is considered 
that he was actively engaged from 1776 
until 1782 in a most hazardous and import- 
ant dutj', at a time when ordinary zeal 
would have become cold and ordinary 
courage crushed, when they regard hisex- 
j pose, his position and his untimely death, 
! the committee can not but conclude that 
I the spirit of these resolutions should be 
extended to your memorialist; and if 
there is such an attribute as national grati- 
tude, it should now be exerted. 
-, The committee report the following res- 
olutions for the consideration of the 
House : 

Resolved, That the Congress of the Unit- 
ed States hold in high estimation and 
grateful remembrance the servi(!e of Cap- 
tain -Joshua Huddy, of New Jersey, in the 
war of the revolution, and unites in the 
opinion of the Continental Congress of 
1782, that he was wantonly and inhuman- 
ly sacrificed by the enemy while in the 
heroic discharge of his duty. 

Besolved, That in consideration of the 
services rendered to his country by Cap- 
t.iin Joshua Huddy, and in the perfor- 
mance of which he was taken prisoner 



90 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



and afteawards executed for no other 
crime than his devotion to liberty, it is 
tlie duty of Congress to appropriate to liis 
children tiie same sums they woul i havt- 
received liad their hither been a conlinen- 
t il officer and had continued in llje service 
until ilie close of the war ; and the wii.-le 
henetit of ttie I'esoluiions ot 8ept» mber 
19ih, 1777, and August 24ih, 1780, be ex- 
tended to them. 

To carry which resolutions into effect, 
your cominitlee report a bill. 

(The substance of this bill has already 
been given.) 

CAPTAIN ASGILL AND HI^ COM- 
PANIOJNS. 

Humorous Account of a Serious Affair. 

In speaking of casting lots among | 
British officers for the puipose o\' retail i- j 
lion for tije murder of Captain .Joshua ! 
Huildy, extracts were quoted from British 
writers who enUeavorfd to make <iut tliat [ 
Captam AsgilTs compani(jns acted very ' 
unselfishly and generously lowardo him, but 
by the following extract il will be seen ; 
that their conduct was tiothing to boast 
of. It is from James Smith, one of lh>i i 
authors of that celebiated woi k "Reject- 
ed Address." Smith o.ca&iunally used lo 
visit CoU)nel Greville, once a somewhat 
noted ciiaracter in connection vvitli several 
literary journals. Un one visit the Colonel 
related ihe particulars ot what he term>-d 
the most curious circumstance of .lis life. 
He was taken prisoner iluiing the Ameri- 
can Kevoluiion along with three other 
officers of the same rank ; one evening 
they were summoned into the presence of 
General Washington, who announced to 
them that the conduct of the British gov- 
ernment in cotniemning one of his officers 
(Cap'ain Hufldy) to death a- a rebel lom- 
pelled him to make reprisals; ami that 
much to his regiet he was unuer the ne- 
neftsity oliequiring them to east lots with- 
out delay, to decide which of them should 
be hanged. They were then bowed out 
and retuintd to their quarters. P'our sliji!- 
of paper weie put into a hat and the short- 
est was drawn by Captain Asgill. who ex- 
claimed " 1 knew how ii would be, 1 never 
won so much as a hit at backgiimmon in 
my life." Greville said he then was se- 
lected to set uv) with Captain A.-gill, under 
pretext of cnmpani(.)nship, but in reality 
to prevent Asgiil trom escaping and leav- 



ing the honor of being har.g d lo be set- 
tle<i between the reniaining tin eel 

'"And whit," said Siiiitii, "d d ^ ou say 
to c-'Uifort hui; ?" 

'• Why I r. meinl)er saying to him, wiien 
he left us, D — n ic, old fellow, nei'tr miiid ; " 
but it may be doubled, added Smith, 
whether Asgill drt w much comort Irom 
the exhortation 

This Colonel GrevilU was the one upon 
whom Lo d Byron has coiiferre<i a not 
very enviable noioriet} in the toJlowing 
lines : 

"Or lial at unee the patron and the [lile 

Of vicu an I fi'llv, (irt-vilL- an 1 /irg\k-." 

— Law Qiuirteili) Mjyazine London' 



THE REMARKABLE TRIAL OF REV. 
WILLIAM I'E.NWh-NT Full PERJUllY. 

The remarkable trial of Rev. William 
reiinent. of the old reiinent church, for 
perjury, took [)Iace at I re litem in 1742 be- 
fore Ciiief Ju tice Robei t Hunter Morris. 

Tne indictment upon which Mr. reii- 
nent was II ied was one of a series of in- 
dictmenis all growing out ol the same tran- 
saction — the alleged stealing ol a horse by 
the Rev Ml. liowland ; and the iniiiv<dual 
I who w^ s the cause ol all the w<jes and 
perils whi h betel the unlortuiiate gentle- 
men who Were supposed to be implicated, 
was a no oiious si;oundit-l nailed lorn Bell, 
I whose exploits would n^t suti' r l^y a com- 
parison with thost- of Jonathan Wild or 
• Jack SiK ppard. Hew s an iidepl in all 
1 the arts ol fraud, ihelt, robbery and for 
! gery. But his chief amusement consisted 
m travelling from on« part of the country 
j o another |)ersonating ditferenl Individ. j- 
j als and as>uming.a vanely ol chiraciei's. — 
i t>y turns he was a sailor, a merchant, a 
\ lawjer, a doctor, a preaciier, and su.-tained 
eacli cha act< r in such a way for a lime as 
to impose on the uublio. I'he late Jmlge 
Richaid S. Field, in a p.ii>er e id before 
t e N, J. Hisioii ai Soc.ety m 1851, re 
viewing the reports of this remaiKable 
irial, furnishetl qu te a list of tne misueeils 

this villian. 
, By far the most bill iant of all Tom 

Bell'o achievements v as unquestionably 

1 hat out of which grew the indicimiiil of 
Rev. William Tennen! for peijury. 1 1 so 
happened that Bell oore a striking le- 
seinulance to the Rev. Mr. Rowland, a 
populai- jiieaiher (t the day, and a triend 
and as-ociate of Whu field anil the Teii- 
neiits. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



91 



One fvt'iiinfr B.Il made hi- (ippearaiice i 
at a tavern in P iiu-elon (lri's^e<l in a daik 
irrey t:oat. lli" there met John SiocUtoii, | 
b.,<(]., fyther (if Richard Stocktt-.n, a sijjinr j 
of ilie l)fclaration o\' Inde^ enth.'nce, wiio 
coming up to him a> one accosted liim as [ 
the liev. Mr. Rowland and invited him to 
Ills h use. Bell assured Inm that lie was 
mistaken — thai his name was 'not Row- 
land. Mr. Stockton acknowledj^ed ids 
t-rrorand told him it pr ceedetl from the 
verv close resenddance he hope to that 
genlUman. This link was enough for Tom 
Bell. It at once occurred to him that here 
was a chance for phiying one of his tricks. 
The Vf^rv next day he went into wli;it was 
then the county of IJ ufiterdon and stopped 
at a place where tlie Rev. Mr. Rowian<l 
had occ sionally preached, hut wliere he 
was not well kn iwn. Here he introduce d 
liim>elf as Mr. Row'and, was invited to 
the liouse i>\ ageiulcman in tlu neighlior 
hood, and asked to preach on the fl low- 
ing Sabhath. Fie coi .-enled to do so. and 
notice to that ettect was accordlngis giv- ii. 
When the day arrived lie acjompanied tlie 
laihes to church in ih»^ faniiy wa<.on while 
the master rode alongside, on a very fine 
hoise. A* they app -ouclie i the chur.h, 
Bell suddenly discovered that he had leli 
his notes benird him and propo ed riding 
back after them on the fine h rse. i his 
was at once agree<i to and B II m mmed 
tlif horse, rode back to the house, riflid 
• lie desk of lii.i host nd took liis depart- 
ure, leavin>i tlie assemided con-rt-g ition 
to wonder wiia' had become of the Rev. 
Mr. Rowland. 

We UKiy imagine the sati-f iction which 
Bell must have derived from this exploii. 
Mr. Rowland was a noted pre ^cher ol great 
punjzeniiy aiid pov\er, and thundered the 
ttiiorsol the law again.-t ail iaipHiiilent 
sinners. He wis caileil by the pro'essed 
vvi s of the day '* JJel/ Fire liowlaiuW He 
was literally a. tt-rior to evil doeis, and 
therefore it may be [(resumed an object of 
peculiar aveision to Tom liell. The idea 
ilit-n of bringing such a man into disgracf 
and at the .-■ame tune of pursuing his fa- 
vorite occupation must have been doubly 
pb-asing to him. 

Rfv. Mr. Kowiuiid was at this tim^ ab- 
sent Irom New Jersey. He had gone for 
t he purpose ot preaching in Pennsylvania oi- 
Mary hind in company vvitli Rev. Wm. 
Teiinent and two pious laymen of the 
county of Hunterdon by the names of 
Jushu.i Andt r-on and Bt-nj''min Stevens, 
membei's of a church coniigujus to the 



one at whicliTotnBell proposed to officiate. 
As soon as they returne<l Mr. Kovvladd 
was cbaiged wilh tne lobbery of the hor-«e. 
A I the next lerm of Oyer and Terminer for 
Hunterdon county an indictment was pre- 
fe red against him. 

Great was th'^ excitement produced by 
this event, owing in part to the peculiar 
.-tate of the Colony at the time. Through 
the labors of Mr. Whiifiehi and his as- 
sociates, among whom were Me.ssrs. Ten- 
neul and Rowland, a great revival of re- 
ligion had taken ulace in the Pi evinces. 
But there was a party in the Colony who 
were very hcslilo to this religious move- 
ment, who den 'unced its authors as fanat- 
ics and enthusiasts, and some of whom did 
not hesitate to braml ihem as hypocrites 
and imposters. Conspicuous among this 
par'y was the Chief Justice, Piobert H. 
Morris, who what(^ver claim he may have 
had to lesj) ct, was certainly not distin- 
guished eiMier for religion or morality. 
To such men this charge against Mr. Row- 
land, one of til'- pieachei-^ who were turn- 
iDii everything ujiside down, vvas ol course 
Decision of great triumph and rejoicing, 
and the most strenuous eti'ir's made to 
procure his conviction. The grand jury 
at first refu.-ed to find a bill aiiaiiist liim, 
but they were reproved tiy the Court and 
sent out again. Tiiey again returned with- 
out an itidic: men t but the Court sent them 
out a second lime with threats ot punish- 
ment if they persislwd in iheir refusal, and 
th^n tliey consented to find a true bill. 

Thus Ml. Rowland was sulijected lo the 
ignominy of a trial. A clear case was 
made out on the part of the prosecution. 
A large numlier of witnessts swore po.'=- 
itively that he was the identical person 
wiio hail c 'mmiiti'd the robbery. Un the 
other hand, the defendants called as wit- 
nesses, Me.Bsrs. Tenneni, Anderson and 
Stevens, who testified that on the very 
• ay on which the rot)bery vvas committed 
they were in company with Mr. Rowland 
at some pit ce in Pennsylvania or Ma-y- 
'and, and. heaid him preach. An alibi 
being thus clearly proved, the jury with- 
out hesitation acquitted him. 

But still the putdic mind was not satis- 
fien. The person whose horse had been 
stolen and whose house Iiad been robbed 
was so convinced that Mr. Rowland was 
th^ robber, and i-o many individuals had, 
as thry supposed, seen him in [lossession 
of the horse that it was resolved not to let 

the matter drop. Messrs, rennent, An- 
derson and Stevens weie tlierefure arraign- 



92 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ed before the Court of- Quarter Sessions, of 
Hunterdon, u}>on the charjie of having 
swo-n falsely upon the trial of Mr. Row- 
land, and indictments were found against 
each of them for peijuiy. 'Iluse indict- 
ments were all removed to the .Su{)ren)p 
Court. Anderson, conscious of his inno- 
ct nee and unvviliing to be under tiie im- 
putation of such a Clime, den)anded his 
trial at the next term of Oyer and 'iVinii- 
ner. What evidence he offered in his de- 
fence does not appear, but he was con- 
victed and condemned to stand one hour 
on the Court House steps with a paper on 
his breast whereon was written in large 
letters, " This is for loilful and corrupt per- 
jury."' Thetiials ofTennent and Sttn'ens 
were postponed. 

Ttnnent, we are told, being entirely un- 
used to legal matters and knowing no per- 
son by whom he could i»rove his inno- 
cence, had no other resource but to sub- 
mit himself to Divine will, and thinking 
it not unlikely that he might be convicted, 
had prepared a sermon to preach from the 
pillory. True he employed Mr. John 
Coxe, an eminent lawyer of the Province 
to assist, and when he arrived at Trentftn 
he found that William Smith one of the 
most distinguished members of the New 
York bar, who had voluntarily attended 
on his belialf ; and Mr. Tennent's brother 
Gilbert who was then pastor, of a church 
in Philadelphia, had brought with him Mr. 
.lohn Kinsey, an eminent lawyer of that 
city, to aid in his defence. But what could 
they do without evidence? When Mr. 
Teiinent was desired by his counsel to call 
on his witnesses that they might examine 
them before going into Cour(, he declared 
he knew no witnesses but God and his 
conscience. His counsel assured him, that 
however well founded this confidence 
might be, and however important before a 
ln-avenly tribunal, it would not avail him 
in an earthly court. And they therefore 
urged thai an application should be madf 
to postpone the trial. But this he would 
by no means consent to. They then in- 
formed him they had discovered a flaw in 
the indictment and proposed that advan- 
tage should be taken of it. (Mr. Stevens 
took advantage of this flaw and was clear 
ed ) Mr. Tennent resisted with great ve- 
hemence sf.ying it was another snare of 
the devil, and before he would consent to 
it he would suffer death. In the mean- 
time the bell summoned them to theCourt. 
While on the way to the Court House Mr. 
Tennent is said to have met a man and 



his wife who stopped and asked if his 
name was Tennent. He said it was and 
begged to know if they had any business 
wiih him. They replied '' You know best." 
They then ini'ormed him that they re- 
sided in a certain j/lace in Pennsylvania 
or Maryland, and that upon one occasion 
he in company witti Itowland, Anderson 
and Stevens, had lodged at their house: 
that on the following day they had heard 
him and fiowland preach : that some nights 
before they lelt home, they had each of 
them dreamed that Mr. Tennent was at 
Tienlon in the greatest possilile distress, 
and that it was in theii power, and in theirs 
alone to relieve him ; tnat ihis dream was 
twice repealed and in preci-ely the same 
manner to each of them, and that it made 
so derp an impression o i their minds that 
they had at once set off upon a journey to 
Trenton, and were there to know of him 
what thev were to do. Mr. Tennent hand- 
ed them over to his counsel, who to their 
astonishment found that their testimony 
was entirely satisfactory. Soon after, Mr. 
.lolin Stockton, who mistook Tom Bell for 
Rev. Mr. Rowland, a!f.o appeared and was 
examined as a witness for Mr. 'fennent. 
In short the evidence was so clear and con- 
clusive, that notwithstanding the most 
strenuous exertion of the Attorney Gen- 
eral to procure a conviction, the jury with- 
out hesitation acquitted Mr. Tennent. 



MEMBERS OF THE NEW JERSEY 

PROVINCIAF. ASSE.MBLY FliO.M 

MONMOUTH COUNTY. 

Fkom their First Session began November 

10th, 1703, AT Perth Ambov, to the 

Revolution. 

In the list of members of the Assembly, 
or " fiouse of Representatives of the Prpv- 
ince of Nova Cesarea or New .Jersey," from 
1703 to 1709, during which time there 
were four sessions, the names of the coun- 
ties to which they severally belonged are 
not given. The records simply mention 
that they are from East or West Jersey as 
the case may be. Among the members 
from East Jersey it is probable that the 
following are from Monmouth County : 

1st Assenilily, 1703, Obndiuh Bowiic, Uich'il Uartshorne, 
n .„^, j Ricliurd Iliirtsl'orne. .lolin Bowne. 

'^" ^'"*'1 Iliclinnl Salter, OI>adiiiIi Bowne. 

,_-,_ J .John BowiiC, William Lawrence, 
•*•' ' '^"''tLH wis Morris. 

4tli " 1708-9, Gorshom Mott, Rlislia Lawrence. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



93 



Tm- 






lAftjerithisi'Sessi'Oia' th^ nana^sn of. the 
counties to ^^hicb the imembers belonged' 

are. giveui. ; 

5tb AiseniWy, 1709. Elieh<t Lawrence, Gershom Mott. 
6th., 1 i"; ,1710, (3ers)iora Mutt, WiHiitm Lawrence. 
7th .. " 1716, WilliMni Lawrence, ElisliaLawreuce. 

8th" '^ 1T21, William Lawrence, Garret Schenck.' 
9th,.' !' 1727, John Eaton, .James Grover. . •■ •, 

10th •. " 1730, John Eaton, James Grover. . , . , 

11th, "■ ■ 1738, John Eaton, Cornelius Vandervere. , 
12th' " '<'> V740, John Eaton, Cornelius Vandervtre. 
13tlii ' .!!',..ii')17.43, John Entou, Robert Lawrence.; 
14th " " 1744, Joliii Eaton, K^-'liert Lawrence. 
15tli' ' ' '• ' ' ' iVUS, John Eaton, Rol.ei-t Lawrenfe."'-" '"' 
lekhii' '.' Mnl746, John Katon, Robert LnwroBcei> ^f/i 
17th '.' \ ,|, 1749, John Eaton, Robert Lawrence. 
18th' ," ' 't751, Robert Lawrence, James Holmes. ., 
19th' i *' i!l I1764, Robert Lawrence, Jamos Ilohhes.' ' 
20^h " 1761, James Holmef,* lUcharu Lawrence. 

21st " 1769, Robert IIartsli..rne, Edward Taylor. 

23d " 1772, Ed-ward Taylor Richard Lawrence. 

Robert Lawrence was speaker of the As- 
sembly in 1746-7, and again fr6m 1754- 
1758. . . I'll! ,r.nir<i 

TtiE pROtlNCIAIj CoN'GRiSS 'Oi*' NeW -JERSE^. 

The delejiates appointed by ih^ peyeral, 
counties to take action in rejrard |to th^. 
tyrannical acts of Great Britain, assemble^, 
at New Brunswick, July 21vt, 1774, an<l 
continued in s'^ssion thteedays.: Sevpnty- 
two delegates were present. The fallowing 
had been elected from Monmouth c-'>unfy 
by a meeting held at Freehold C'pMilt, 
House, Juiy 19th, viz: iijil 

Edward Taylor, John Anderson, John Taylor. ' 
James Grover, John Lawrence, Dr. Nath'l Scudder. 
.Fohn Burrowes, Joseph Holmes, .Josiali Holmes ' 
Edward Williams. 

Edward Tsykr was appointed chairman 
of thf delegation. Tlje Provincial Con- 
gress elected feiephen Crane, of Essex, 
Cliairman, and Jonathian D. Sargent, of 
Somerset, clerk. . Resolutions were passed 
similar in charactei' to those adopted by 
the Monmoutii meeting, recently publish- 
ed. 



* James Holmes died and! Johni-.iAiirjdjer 
soDi was chosen in his planeaioo oi miinAl 

ii'Mi' — »_i_^;.>'('i 'If) *'i-^iiFiH>l')i 

WASHINGTON AND LEE 1t' l"UE' 

• ■ BATTLE O'f MONMOUlii, '' ' ' 

■ :■.; ■ ■■. , ; ■ • , : . ■ : ! ., i ^ • / i" • 1 1; >i: (ill 

In the^bstttle of 'MoriWtiuV'h^hWn Ma'- 
jor General Charles' Lee' htld v^i'jf ' h'^arfy 
lost the dAy by ordering a retreat, it is' Ve 
lated by Irving 'that WfishiiVgtbn '" gal 
loped forward to stop the retreat, his in- 
dignation kindling as l)e rode." "The 
commander-in-chief soon encounterediLae 
apjiroaching with the body of his? com- 
mand in full retreat." "By this time" 
says Irving he was thoroughly exaspera- 
ted. 



" What is the meaning of this sir? ' de»d 
manded he, in the st(rne.st and evefa 
fiercest tone as Lee rode up to him. Le¥, 
stung by the manner more than by the > 
words of demand, made an angry reply and 
provoked still sharper expressions which;- 
are variously vepoited., 7/ ./:!.' 

The "yariotisly reported " expressions 
are the swearing, iqoncerning' the quality 
of 'which all the great historians inclu- , 
di^^gjlryingare^ilept^,.^ l,o)i;r.q...x-. oa e-i^v/ 

Oil ^;d iwii^T LA'FkYiiTTE sAli) ^'c^^' ■/"•"''* sJfl 

I iioioi / n; . ,11 : - , , , '^.1 i;; J'ffj. •I'^l! 

B^t, -t^e, Marquis. deLafayettej/VYh,en.j;ej;.'^ 
latjng .the circumstance toGovernor Tom.p-v 
kins, Qf New York, in 1824, said that ' thi§. , 
wap., th,e only Vme .1 ,(jver , hieiud Genej:;.^!,, 
Ws^ghingtoj); 3wea^', . Hie called Lee a,; 
dqrr).7ied .pclffocm, and ;;W^as. in ft towering, 
rf:ge. AiPPthpr w'itDes>|Said that Washiog-ij 
ton. cried to Lj^e "in tj^ie devil's namj}, s^ij, j 
go. back, to tl^e, front, or go to hell.'j j , ; ,,, , ,,., 

'1 '^ A' 'Profane ViiiGiNrAiN's VfiHsiioj^. "''' '•'' 

■(;').-, iiii,- l.i'ii ■'; /■-■-■;■;; ; /:MI jji'VrtC'jl'. 

The late Gen^riil Charles Scott., of TJ?;v , 
ginia, wlio had himself a most inveterate 
habit of swearing, being asked, after the 
Revolutionary war, whether it was possi- 
ble that thebe.lojvedi and admired Wash- 
ington 6ver;8w'(brb^ii;eiplied ih ihifi; dhiinitJa-!;! 
lalewaiy;: -..V/ h-a-i..-.' - i ' - !■ ;•.,l■ 

^' Yes sir, he did.once. It was at Mon- 
mouth and on a dayr that • would luive 
made;any man swear.' Yes sir, he svRore 
that day Till the leaves shook in the trees^u 
charming, delightful. Never have I enjoyed 
such '.sweaiing. befoi*e or since. Sir, on:. 
that memorable, day l^e s,wore,'Jikeian.aHriJ 
gel from heaven. I" .;, ,iij i. : ■ i •1 ':'.■,- 1'*/ 
The foregoing would seem to . justifjfi! 
General Lee's statement on his Court Marl"; 
tial trial, that he was ," discQccerted, ast.j 
tonished and confounded','; b.y . IW asjbttingr, , 
ton's.^ordiS^eaid manner; ,;■ -ili 1:^ lijuri 

I ^' '^#^^MV'-'Atichtri},t'6'i-!'rii^^]«MVi'f •'"'/' 

, - fno>; :.'(!!■,: .1 ^-iil; ■.'■, -.: 'iini.siis 'jill 
' -Says Weems, in his life of Washington;;// 

■" As' Washington was advancing, to hja- 
infijiitte aStOnisliment he met L«e retreaW/ 
ing »n<J the en?my pursuing. Wr. >\ 

I } Fov; God's sake,, General Z^ee,' Baid Wash-J 
ingtoij, in gveAt warmth, Myhat ip tiie;; 
ca\i;se of this ill tiniQd prujJence?' j "kIi. 

' No' man sir,' replied Lee, ' Oan boastj.Ari 
larj^f r poj'tion of tha.t rascaillyi virtue ftfcan-; 
your Excellency. f ;;: ; il • 1 ir- f, ,;!,[--)'i 
J D/trtiflg a,lGngf]jJ<e; a madmeun,! Washing-/; 
ton rode up to his. troops, who at sight of 1 
Mm rent the air with "God save gre:tt' 
Washineton." 



94 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



'' My brave fellows can you tight?" said 
he. 

They answered with three cheers. 

" Then face about, my heroes, and 
chaj'ge !" 

This order was executed with infinite 
spirit. 

Rev. C. W. Upham's Account. 

Upham in his life of Washington says : 

" When General Washington met Lee 
retreating at the battle of Monmouth he 
was so exasperated as to lose control of 
his feelings for a moment and in his an- 
ger and indignation burst forth in violent 
expressions of language and manner. — 
Very harsh words were exchanged be- 
tween him and Lee and a sharp corres 
pondence ensued, which resulted in Was.h- 
ington's putting Lee under arrest. He 
was tried by Court Martial, convicted of 
disobedience of orders, of misbehavior be- 
fore the enemy in making an unnecessa- 
ry and disorderly retreat, and of disrespect 
to the Commander-in-Chief in the lettei^s 
subsequently addressed to hun and sen- 
tenced to be suspended for one year," 

Ax Old Citizen of Monmouth tells the 
Stohv. 

The late Dr. Samuel Forman, whose 
father, David Forman and P.^ter Wikoff, 
acted as guides to General Washington, 
trave in 1842 the following version of what 
transpired on this memorable occasion. 

" The action commenced in the morn- 
ing after breakfast, in the vicinity of Briar 
Hill, distant a half or three quarters of a 
mile beyond the Court House. From 
thence the Americar^s under Lee slowly 
retreated before the enemy ab ut three 
miles to the vicinity of the Parsonage, 
where a final stand was made and the 
principal action fought. Here Washing- 
ton met Lee in the field immediately 
north of the dwelling, and ri(>ing up to 
him, with astonishment asked "What is 
the meaning of this?" Lee being some- 
what confused and not distinctly under- 
standing the question, replied : '' Sir ! sir !" 
Washington the second time said "What 
IS all that confusion for and retreat?" — 
Lee replied " He saw no confusion but 
arose from his orders -not being properly 
obeyed." Washington mentioned that " he 
had certain information that it was but a 
strong covering party of the enemy." Lee 
replied that " It might be .so, but they 
were rather stronger tlian he was and that 
lie did rot think it proper lo risk so 
piMohi " or word- to that (^H'ect. W^'sll1^g- 



ton said " You should not have underta- 
ken it," and passed by him. Shortly after 
Wa:shington again met him and asked " if 
he would take command there ; if not, he 
(Washington) would; if General Lee 
would take command there, he would re- 
turn to the main army and arrange it." — 
Lee replied that *' nis Exellency had be- 
fore given him the command there." — 
Washington told him he expected he 
would take proper measures for checking 
the enemy there. Lee replied that iiis or- 
ders should be obeyed and that he would 
not be the first to leave the field ; and 
Washington then rode away. Immediate 
ly after this General Hamilton, in a great 
heat, rode up to Lee and said " I will stay 
here with you, my dear General, and die 
with you; let us all die here rather than retreat.'' 

Other Historians. 

Marshall, Bancroft and Sparks in their 
lives of Washington merely s'ate in sub- 
stance that " Washington spoke in ternis 
of warmth, implying disippiobation of 
Lee's conduct." 

Mr. George H. Moore, librarian of the 
New York Historical Society published in 
1860 a small volume entitled •' The Trea- 
son of Charles Lee, &c " which gives some 
important facts in General Lee's career to 
which we shall endeavor to refer hereaft- 
er, but his work sto))s snort of the battle 
.)f Monmoutii. 

Gen. Washington rarely used profane 
language, but. there is no doubt that he 
did on this occasion, being exasperated at 
Lee's conduct, which gave suspicion of 
treachery. The charge of treason against 
l,ee we shall endeavor to examine here- 
after. 

Our older readers remember the story 
of the College Divinity Professor wlio al- 
ways held up Washington as a model for 
ills })Ui)iis in all tilings. One day he was 
laboring to convince his scholars of- the 
wickedness of profanity when one ot them 
loseuD and said ; " Professor yi;u told us 
to take Washington as an example in all 
things and you know he swore terribly at 
the battle of Monmouth." The Professor 
WIS nonplussed, but finally stammered 
'• Ahem? ah, well — if ever any body did 
liave an excuse for swearing it was Wash- 
ineton at the battle of Monmouth ! 
General Lee's Own Version. 

General Lee, in his defence before the 
('curt Martial, said : 

" When I arrived first in hi-; (Washing- 
ton's) ijr^^seuce, oonsoiou-^ (•(' having doiie 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



95 



nothing which could draw ®n me the least 
censure, but rather flattering myself with 
his congratulation and applause. I confess 
J was disconcerted, astonished and con 
founded by the words and manner in 
which bis Exellency accosted me. It was 
so novel and unexpected from a man 
whose discretion, humanity and decorum 
I had from the first of our acquaintance 
stood in admirauon of, that I was for some 
time unable to make any coherent answer 
to questions so abrupt and in agreat meas- 
ure unintelligible. The terms I think 
were these: ' I desire to know, sir, what 
is the reason wiience arises this disorder 
and confusion V" The manner in which he 
expre.'sed them was much stronger und 
more severe than the expressioiis them- 
selves. When I recovered myself sufS- 
ciently I answered that I saw or knew of 
no confusion but which naturally arose 
from disobedience of orders, contradictory 
intelligence and the impertinence and pre- 
suni]»tion of individuals who were invest- 
ed with no authority, intruding themselves 
in matters above their sphere ; That the re- 
treat in the first instance uas contrary to my or- 
ders and wishes. 

Washington replied all this might be 
true but he ought not have undertaken 
the enterprise unless he intended to go 
through with it." 



EPLSCOPALlANlfsM IN OLD MON- 
MOUTH. 



Freehold. Middletown, Shrewsbury, Staf 
ford, &c. Missionary Efforts from 1745 to 
to 1751. Freehold Presbyterians and 
Episcopalians — Strife in Good Works. — 
Heathens (?) in the Pines. Rogerine 
Baptists, &.G. 

The following account of the missionary 
efforts of Rev. Thomas Thompson in old 
Monmouth, some cenliuy and a quarter 
ago is worthy of preservation by all inter- 
ested in the early religious history of the 
county. We have seen it stated that but 
two copies of Mr. Thompson's work were 
to be found in America, one in the Con- 
necticut Historical library and the other in 
the Astor library at New York. In our 
visits to the latter library in past years we 
have been surprised to see the value pi .ced 
upon this little old fashioned book by peo- 
ple versed in the history of olden times in 
Ameiica, and it is almost as well known 
among them as Gabriel Thomas' History 
of West Jersey, &c., published 1698, of 
which the only known copy of the original 



edition is in the Franklin Library, Phila- 
delphia, a copy of which we hope to find 
room for, before concluding these sketches. 
Lately another copy of Mr. Thompson's 
little book was discovered in an Episcopal 
library in South Carolina, and placed in 
the Congressional Library, at Washing- 
ton. 

In Mr. Thompson's account of his visit 
it will be noticed that he sj^eaks disparag 
ingly of the early settlers in the lower part 
of the county. His zeal for the tenets of 
this society by which he was employed, 
seems to have led him to make animadver- 
sions against the people there, which it 
would appear were not entirely deserved 
according to the testimony of ministers of 
other denominations, which we may give 
hereafter in sketches of the early history 
of other societies. It will be noticed that 
while he accuses them of great ignorance, 
yet he acknowledges having many con- 
ferences and disputes on religious topics 
with them, which shows that they were 
considerably posted in scriptural matters, 
but undoubtedly opposed to the Church of 
England. 

Mr, Thompson's little work gives an ac- 
count of his visi*^ to Monmouth and also to 
Africa. We give all that relates to Old 
Monmouth. His remarks about heathen- 
ism in the pines is rather severe, when it 
is remembered that it was made after his 
visit to the negroes in Guinea, Africa. The 
society he terms "Culvers" were Rogerine 
Baptists, who were located some eleven 
years at Waretown, Ocean county, and 
then left and went to Schooley's Moun- 
tains. 



An Account of the Missionarv Voyages by 

the Appointment of the Society for 

the Propagation of the Gospel in 

foreign parts. The one to New 

Jersey in North America, 

and then from Amer 

ica, to the coast 

of Guiney. 

By Rev. Thomas Thompson, A. M., Vicar 

OF Reculver, in Kent. 
London ; printed for Benj. Dod at the 
Bible and Key, in Ave Mary* Lane, 
near St. Pauls. 
MDCCLVIII. 
In the spring ot the year 1745 I embarked 
for America, being appointed Missionary 
of the Society for the Propagation of the 
Gospel in Foreign Parts upon recommen- 
dation of my Reverend Tutor Dr. Thomas 
Cartwright, late Archdeacon of Colchester 



96 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



and a member of the Society, myself then 
a Fellow of Christ's College Cambridge. 
I went in a ship called the Albany, belong- 
ing to New York which sailed from Graves- 
end on the 8th day of May and providen- 
tially escaping some inst'^nt dangers on the 
passage, arrived at New York on the 29th 
of August. The Sunday following I preach- 
ed both Morning and Afternoon at the 
Episcopal Church in that citv. whereof the 
Eeverend Mr. Commissary Vesey had then 
been rector more than forty years. On the 
next Sunday I passed over to Elizabeth- 
town in New Jersey on piy journey to 
Monmouth County in the Eastern Division 
where I was appointed to reside and have 
the care of Churches in that county, being 
also licensed thereto by the Right Rev- 
erend the late Lord Bishop of London. 

Being come to the place of my mission 
I presented my credentials and was kindly 
received and took the first opportunity of 
waiting upon the governor Lewis Morris 
Esq., at his seat at Kingsburg wiiich is in 
the Western Division, and took the oath 
of allegiance and supremacy and also the 
abjuration oath and subscribed the Declara- 
tion in presence of his Excellency. 

Upon making inquiry into the state of 
the churches within my District. 1 found 
that the members were much disturbed 
and in a very unsettled state, insomuch, 
that some of them had thoughts of leaving 
our communion and turning to the Dis 
senters. The particular occasion of ttiis I 
forbear to mention. 

As I came to gather more information, 
it presented to me, that many of those who 
frequented the Church worship never had 
been baptized ; .some heads of families and 
several others of adult age, besides a num- 
ber of young children and Infants. 

1 perceived that it was not altogether 
neglect, but there was something of princi 
pie in the cause, that so many persons had 
not received the sacred ordinance of bap 
tism and others did not procure it to their 
ciiildren. That part of the country abound- 
ing in Quakers and Anabaptists, tlie inter- 
course with these sects was of so bad in- 
fluence, as had produced among tlie Church 
people thus conforming with their teiiets 
and example. However the main fault 
was rather carelessness of the baptism and 
a great deal was owing to prejudice res- 
pecting the matter of god fathers and god 
mothers. 

I seriously declare that the reconciling 
this order of the Church to the minds of 
people in the American colonies, is of more 



difficulty and trouble to the Missionary 
than almost all their work and business 
besides. And I am well assured that many 
nf the Sectaries dislike nothing in the 
Church so ciuch as that; and some I am 
apt to think, do stand out from our Com- 
munion purely upon that account and for 
no other reairon. 

I had many tedious arguments with my 
people upon this head. I also made it the 
subject of some of my discourses in the 
pulpit, till by one means or other, I nt 
length brought them to a better under- 
standing thereof and to be in a good de- 
gree satiii-fied with it. 

After sometime they began to bring their 
children to Baptism, and when some had 
led the way, the rest followed, and pre- 
sen ted those of their children which were 
under years of maturity, to be received in- 
to the Church and I christened thirteen 
in one day. After this it went on regular- 
ly. Parents had their children baptized as 
soon after they were born as conveniently 
could be done and one whole family, the 
man (whose name was Joseph West) his 
wife and nine children were baptized all 
at one time. 

By frequent exhortations to the elder 
sort c.nd often calling upon them to con- 
sider how they deferred a thing of that 
consequence to their salvation. I prtvail- 
ed with many to take upon themselves the 
baptismal engagement, to whom 1 gave all 
necessary instiuction both to inform their 
understanding and prepare their minds 
thereto. 

The Churches which 1 served were well 
filled every Sunday and divers families that 
lived out of the county came to 3ivine 
service from several miles distance and 
were very constant devout attendants. — 
Besides these some of the Dutch Church 
often made a considerable addition to the 
number of my hearers. 

I had three churches immediately in my 
charge, each of them situated in a ditl'er- 
ent township, which had regular duty in 
such proportion as were agreed upon and 
subscribed to at a general vestry meeting 
soon after my coming there. The names 
of the townships ai'e F'reehold, Shrewsbury 
and Middletown. I also officiated at Allen- 
town in Upper Freehold while that church 
was destitute of a minister, which was af- 
terwards supplied by Mr. Michael lloudin, 
a convert from the Church of Rome, and 
a worthy clergyman, now the Society's 
missionary. Tluse four townships com 
prised the whole county althcntgli 40 or 50 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH, 



97 



miles in length and in some parts of it con- 
siderably wide. 1 also did occasional duty 
at other places as will be farther men- 
tioned. 

'iliis mission to Monmouth County had 
been very eaily recommended to the So 
ciety but was not presently established. 
Dr. Humphrey's in his Historical account 
makes mention '' that Colonel Morris, a 
genllemaii of character and considerable 
interest in New J(rsey (the same who was 
afterwards governor of the province) did 
in a letter in the year 1703 very earnestly 
solicit Dr. Beveridge (late Bishop of St. 
Asaph, a member of the Society) to send 
a missionary to Mun mouth county in East 
•Jersey where a considerable body of ( hurch 
people had formed themselves into a gath 
ered church and had promisea all the belp 
their narrow circumstances could afford 
their minister. The Society were noi then 
able to support a missionary there, but the 
Reverend Alexander Innis, hapjiening to 
be in those parts took the care of that peo- 
ple upon him. After a worLiiy discharge 
of his functions he died ;" and by his last 
will and testament appointed ten acres oi 
land lying in Middletown to the service of 
God, whicli is the ground whereon the 
church now stands. Since that Mr. Wil- 
liam Leeds became a benefactor to the 
church by making over his house and plan- 
tation to the society for the use and habi- 
tation of a missijuarv to be appointed to 
preach the gospel to the inhabitants of 
Middletown and Shrewsbury. 

As to the church buildings I have found 
them all much out of condition, especially 
the church at Middletown, which was be- 
gun to be built, but the year before I came 
there, and had nothing done on the inside, 
not even a floor laid. So that we had no 
place for the present to assemble in Divine 
worship, only an old house which had 
formerly been a meeting house 

I had now a great and very diflBoult task 
of it to bring people to the communion. 
They that were conformable to this sacred 
ordinance were in very small numbers. 
Many persons of 50 or 60 years of age and 
.someolder had never addressed themselves 
to it. In this case it appeared to me that 
their will was less in fault than their judg- 
ment, which hung so much on the side of 
fear, that it overbalanced the sense of du- 
ty. 1 took all possible pains to satisfy their 
scruples, gave them frequent opportiini- 
ties of the communion, ami by the blessing 
of God gained most of the ancient people, 



besides many others, who gave due and de- 
vout attention to it ever after. 

That i might lay a good foundation for 
the children and build them up in sound 
christian principles I began to catechize ; 
at first onlv asking questions in the Church 
catechism, but after a while I changed the 
method with them, so as still to keep the 
words of the catechism but raised other 
questions to the several clauses and mat- 
ters contained therein to trv what they un- 
derstood of it ; and by this means led them 
further into the sense and meaning of every 
part of it. 

The number of my catechumens began 
now to increase and several of riper years 
presented themse'lves with a teeming ear- 
nestness to receive the benefit of this in- 
struction. So I carried it further and put 
Lewis' Exposition into their hands and ap- 
pointed them a day about once a month to 
come to the Court House and say the parts 
which I Set them to get by heart, and this 
course I continued till some of them could 
recite it from end to end. 

There were others willing and desirous 
to be put forward in the way of godly, 
knowledge who had not so good memories. 
To these 1 propounded two or three ques- 
tions at a time upon some point of doc 
trine which ihey were to prepare them- 
selves to answer the next meeting and to 
have the Scripture proofs written down to 
be then also produced. To this they ap- 
23lied themselves with great industry and 
gave extraordinarv instances of their good 
understanding as well as diligence. 

When the others had no more of Lewis's 
catechism to learn 1 made them repeat the 
Thirty Nine Articles of religion and then 
taught them to divide these into questions 
and answers, and they gave me in month- 
ly the texts they had collected in proof of 
them. 

In the interim I was not unconcerned 
for the poor negroes who wanted enlight- 
ening more than any, and therefore sjjake 
to their Masters and Mistresses to be at 
the pains to teach them the Catechism. 
And thus was taken good care of in some 
pious families and I catechized them in the 
Church a certain Sunday, and sometimes 
at home and after due instruction, those 
whom I had good assurance of I received 
to baptism, and such afterwards as be- 
haved well I admitted to the communion. 

Speaking here of negroes I will mention 
the case of one in whom it pleased God to 
give an example of his influencing favor 
under circumstances of a condemned crim- 



98 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



inal. This man was a servant at a place 
called Crosswicks, to a Quaker and had 
been convicted of a rape. He after his ap- 
prehension, and also at his trial did seem 
to be a very hardened wretch. According 
to the strictness of the laws, a negro is to 
be executed immediately after sentence; 
but the Judges were pleased to be so far 
favorable as to allow him the space of a 
fortnight to be prepared for death ; which 
Christian indulgence gave me an opportu- 
nity to perform those offices to him which 
by the blessing of God and with the assist- 
ance of a neighboring clergyman, worked 
upon him by degrees, and at length brought 
him to a true repentance. For some time 
he held in a very obstinate temper, but 
when it begun that I could get anything 
from him, I found he was not wholly ig- 
norant in the principles of Christianity ; 
and as he became more disposed to seri- 
ousness, bis readiness of apprehension and 
ajitness to learn made it easy to supply to 
him the further knowledge of religion, 
which, if he had considered sooner, might 
have prevented his coming to that untime- 
ly end. (^ne particular in my dealing with 
him I shall speak of, as it may suggest a 
useful hint to those whose office may call 
them upon a like occasion and which prac- 
tice I can from other experience recom- 
mend. 

I took out of the Psalms such verses as 
are proper to a penitent sinner; which I 
made him repeat verse by verse after me, 
every now and then bidding him raise up 
his mind and thoughts to Heaven and con- 
sider that Ne was speaking to Almighty 
God. By this means putting the best words 
of devotioiv into his mouth, the most per- 
tinent to his use; also holding up his at- 
tention ; calling him to awe and reverence 
the poo»" criminal was drawn out into a 
sort of involuntary confession of his guilt 
and the sense of his soul soon correspond- 
ed with what his tongue uttered and he 
felt in himself, those affections which 
worked duly and properly after they had 
thus been excited. Being thorousihly in- 
structed and grounded in tbe christian 
faith and there being no room to doubt the 
sincerity of his repentance, tlu'ee days be- 
fore his execution 1 baptized him and on 
that day gave him the communion. 

In the year 1746 tbe Churcii at Middle- 
town which had stood useless, being, as 
I have before mentioned, only a shell of a 
building, had now a floor laid and was oth- 
erwise made fit to have divine worship per- 
i'ormed in it. The congregation of this 



church was but small and as the service 
could not be nftener than once a month, 
it was morally impossible to increase the 
number much, especially as there was a 
weekly meeting of Anabaptists in that 
town, so that it was the most I covdd pro- 
pose to prevent those that were of the 
church from being drawn away by dissent- 
ers. 

After necessity had been answered its de- 
mand in the fitting up of one church, ex- 
pediency came next to be consulted for the 
finishing another, viz; : St. Peters in the 
township of Freehold, which had been 
built many years but was never quite com- 
pleted. The ground on which the church 
stands was the gift of one Mr. Thomas 
Boel, who had been a Quaker, but was 
brought over with many others of that per- 
suasion by Mr. George Keith, one of tlie 
Society's first Missionaries, who himself 
had been one of that people but became a 
very zealous member and diligent servant 
of the church and was a person well learned. 
After his return from abroad he had the 
living of Edburton in Sussex and jDublished 
his journal of missionary travel. 

The situation of St. Peteis clmrch at To 
poncmes, whicli is distant from any town, is 
however convenient enough to tlie congre- 
gation and WMS resorted to by mai y fami- 
lie? in Middlesex county living within tlie 
several districts of Cranberry, Machepo- 
neck, and South River ; their missionary, 
my friend and brother Mr. Skinner gladly 
remitting to me thecare of them, which he 
could not well attend to by reason of a 
wide and often dangerous Ferry over tlie 
RaritMn which divides Middlesex county. 

I was therefore uilling to give them idl 
Dossible attendance and did often meet 
them and baptize theii- child'-en and ap- 
pointed certain days to preach at ilioso 
places and there also catechize. 

At a town called Middletown Point I 
preached divers times, the place being re- 
mote and few of tlie settlers having any 
way for convenience of coming to church. 

The inhabitants of Freehold t(Mvnshii>, 
were at least half of them Presbyterian. 
Tiie church people and these interspersed 
among each other, had liyed less in cliarity 
and orotherly love than as becomes church- 
es. But they began on both sides to think 
less of the thiius in which the.' differed in 
opinion than of tliose in which theyagreed. 
And when bickering and di.'<puting were 
laid down, which was done at hisf^ with tiie 
full consent of botli ])arties, another strife 
arose from a better spiiit in tho way oV 



(ILD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



99 



peace, to provoke love and to do good works, in 
which neither side was less lorward than 
the other. 

Ti)e Church of Enirland worship had at 
Shrewshury been provided lor by the build- 
ing ot'a church, before there was any other 
in the county ; but this church was now 
too small for the numerous congregation. 
People of all sorts resorted thither and of 
the Quaker which are agreit body in th;<t 
township, there were several who made no 
scruple of being present at divine service 
and were not too piecise to uncover their 
heads in the house of God. 

I went sometimes to a place called Man 
asquan almost twenty miles distant from 
my habitation where, and at Shark River, 
wliich is in that neighborhood some 
church families were settled who were glad 
of all opportunities for the exercise of Ke- 
ligion. I baptized at Manasquan two Ne- 
gro brethren, both servants to Mr. Samuel 
Osborne an eminent and very worthy mem- 
ber of the church, in vvhosn family they 
had been taught good cliristtan orincii)les. 
The honest nien were so gratified th'it each 
of them otTered me a Spanish dollar in ac- 
knowledat-ient and would liave thought 
themselves more obliged if I had not re- 
fused their ])resents. 

From Manasquan for twenty miles furth 
er on in the country, is all one pine forest. 
1 traveled thiough tiiis desert four times 
to a place called Barnegat, and thence to 
Mannahawkin, ahnost sixty miles from 
home and preached at places where no 
foot of minister had ever come. On'y at 
Munnahawkin. one Mr. Neill, a dissenting 
minister, who is now a presbyter of the 
Church of England (then living at Great 
Eijg Harbor) visited Mannahawkin. 

In tliis section I had my views of heath- 
enism ju-t ^!S thorouglily as 1 have ever 
since beheld it. The inliabitants are thinly 
scattered in regions of solid wood. Some 
are decent peof)le who had lived in better 
places, but those who weie born and bred 
here, have neither religion nor manners 
and do not know to much as a letter in a 
book. 

As Quakerism is the name under wliich 
all those in America shade themselves that 
have been brought up to none, but vvculd 
be thought to be of some religion ; so these 
poor people call themselves Quakers, but 
they have no meetings and many of them 
make no distinction of days, neither observ- 
ing Lords Day nor the Sabbath ; only some 
New England families were then lately set- 
tled 1 liere who Wf-re filled Culvers and had 



a form and manner of their own vrhich 
they held too sacred (though perhaps rath 
er it was too monstrous) to be communica- 
ted and did not admit others into their as- 
semblies. As for those who had removed 
thither from other parts of the country, 
they seemed very sensible of the unhappi- 
ness of their situation, living where they 
had no opportunity for the worship of God 
nor for the christian education of their 
children. I would have taken this difficult 
journey oitener, finding that some good 
might be done among them but having too 
much duty to attend to in other parts of 
my mission I could not do it. 

As people were desirous of having a 
Schoolmaster and spoke of making up 
among themselves a competency for one, I 
proposed it to Mr. Christopher Robert 
Reynolds, the Society's schoolmaster at 
Shrewsbury ; and those parts being within 
that township, it was not inconsistent with 
his appointment. He was willing to go and 
set up school there, and accordingly went 
down and taught a year, employing his dil- 
igence to good effect. 

But his employers living so far asunder 
that they could not send their children to 
school all at one place, he was obliged to 
be often shifting and to go from one house 
to another, which was such a fatigue and 
labor to him, being in years and an infirm 
man. that he was not able to continue it 
and returned to Shrewsbury his former 
station. 

In my journeying through this part®f 
the country I had many conferences 
and disputes with the people. Some of 
them were willing to see their errors and 
others were as obstinate in defending theirs. 
And though ign-'irantmindsand prejudiced 
cannot easily be made to aj^prehend the 
nature and necessity of the christian ordi- 
nances yet it pleased God that I brought 
some to a true sense of them and I gained 
a few to the communion, and baptized, be 
sides children seventeen grown persons, of 
wliich number was Nicholas Wainright 
nearly 80 years of age. 

I had now seen a great change in the 
state o* my mission within the space of 
three years, through the grace of God ren- 
dering my labors effectual to a good end ; 
in particular as to the peace and unison 
which the church members, after having 
been much at variance among themselves, 
were now returned to, and the ceasing an- 
imosities betwixt them and those of other 
societies ; for these I account the most val- 
uable success that attended mv ministry. 



100 



OLD TIxMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



After this the churches continued to 
flourish and in the latter end of the year 
1750, having then been above five years in 
America upon this mission, I wrote to the 
venerable and honorable society a letter 
requesting of them to ^jrant me a mission 
to the coast of Guiney, that I might go to 
make a trial with th* natives and see what 
hopes there would be of introducing among 
them tCe christian religion. The summer 
following 1 received an answer to that let- 
ter from the Rev. Dr. Bearcroft, acquaint- 
ing me that the Society had concluded to 
support me in the design of that voyage 
and would appoint another missionary in 
my stead for Monmouth county. And the 
next September Mr Samuel Cook of Cai- 
us college anived with his proper creden- 
tials and I delivered up my charge to liim. 

Having took my If ave of the congrega- 
tion I set out on the 13th of November 
1751 for New York, from thence to go 
ujjon my voyage to Africa, and at Elizabeth- 
town waited on Governor Jonathan Bel- 
cher Esq., who succeeded Colonel Morris, 
to pay my respects to him before I left the 
province. 

November 24th 1751 I preached both in 
the morning and the afternoon in the Eng- 
lish church in New YorK of which Rever- 
end Mr- Barclay is the worthy Rector and 
the next day went on board a brigantine 
called the '' Prince George," Captain Wil- 
liam Williams, bound for the coast of 
Africa. 



METHODISM IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



The Pioneers of the Society — Bishop As- 
bury at Freehold, Allentown, Long 
Branch, Squan, Kettle Creek, Goodluck 
&c — Rev. Benjamin Abbott's visit dur- 
ing the Revolution. 

We have reason to believe that the pio- 
neers of Methodi.'^m visited the county 
within a very few years after the principles 
of the society were first proclaimed in 
America, and that occasionally some 
preacher would hold forth in some of our 
churches, school house's or private houses 
as early as 1774. Some uncertainty exists 
as to where the first i)reachers held ser- 
vices in the county, owing to the fact that 
the early heroes of Methodism were not 
always very precise in giving the names of 
places where they preached, dates and 
other particulars interesting to the histo- 
rian of the present day. The most com- 
plete and satisfactory journal is that of the 



faithful, zealous, untiring Bishop Francis 

Asbury, which is the more remarkable as 
i":, is doubtful ii'any minister of any denom- 
ination ever perlormed as much labor as 
he did in travelling and 2:)reaching. We 
append extracts fiom his journal relating 
to his labois in Monmouth. But other 
: preachers had preceeded him. Rev. Wil- 
1 liam Walters the first Methodist travelling 
preachf rof American birth wasstalioned in 
our state inl774, and hemay have visited our 
couiity, though he makes no mention of it 
in his journal. That earnest, self sacrific- 
ing minister of the gospel. Rev. Benjamin 
Abbott visitCvl old Monmouth in 1778. Mr. 
Abbott in hia journal speaks of preaching 
at various places in that part of old Mon- 
mouth now composed VTithin the limits of 
Ocean county, among which were Manna- 
hawkin, Waretown. Goodluck and Toms 
River. But after leaving Tftns River, he 
omits to name places ; he merely uses such 
expressions as " at my next appointment, 
&c.," without naming wiiere it was. H<- 
probably preaclied at Freehold and other 
places within the limits of tlie present 
county of Monmoutlj. At some future time 
we shall endeavor to rind room for so much 
of his journal as may relate to old Mon- 
mouth. 

Though it is somewhat uncertain who 
were the first Methodist preachers in the 
county, yet the prol)abilities aie that some, 
if not all the following named p>ersons 
preached here before Abbott's visit in 1778, 
viz: Captain Thomas Webb, Reverends 
Philip Gatch, Caleb B, Pedicord, William 
Watterw, .John King, Daniel Ruff and Wil- 
liam Duke. 

Rev. John Atkinson in his " Memorials 
of Methodism in iSew Jersey," says: 

" The Methodist Society of Monmouth 
(Freehold ?) must have been formed at an 
early period, probably about 1780, as in 
that year Job Throckmorton of Freehold 
Was converged under the ministry of Rev. 
Richard Garietson and became a member 
of th-d Society. He was one of the first 
membera in that region. The Methodists 
were much persecuted there at that time. 
His house was a home for preachers, and 
very likely Asbury was entertainetl at his 
dwelling duiinghis visits to Freehold. — 
Everitt, Freeborn Garretson, Ezekiel Coop- 
er, Ware, and others were accustomed to 
stop at his house. He was accustomed to 
relate incidents of Rev. Benjamin Abbott's 
powerful ministry, one of which is as fol- 
lows : 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



101 



"On one occasion meeting was held in the 
woods, and after Freeborn Garretson had 
preached, Abbott arose and 'ooked around 
over the congregation very significantly, 
and exclaimed : " Lord, begin the work ; 
Lord, begin the work noic! i^ord, begin the 
work just there! pointing at the same time 
towards a man who was standing beside fi 
tree, and the man fell as suddenly as if he 
had been shot and cried aloud for mercy."' 

In 1786 Trenton circuil probably in- 
cluded Trenton, Pemberton, Mount Holly, 
Burlington and M'^nmouth, Reverends 
Robert Sparks and Kobert Cann preachers. 
In 1787 Rev. Ez-kiel Cooper and Rev. Na- 
thaniel R. Mills were the preachers. In 
1788 Rev's John Merrick, Tiiomas Morrell 
and Jettus Johnson were the preachers. 



Bishop Asbury in Old Monmouth. — Ex- \ 

TRACTS FROM HIS JoURNAL. 

.September 14th 1782. I came to New 
Mills (now. Pemberton in Burlington coun- 
ty). I passed through Monmouth in Up 
per and Lower Fre-eiiold ; here lived that 
old saint of God, William Tennent, who 
went to his reward a few years ago. j 

Friday September 9tli 1785. Heard Mr. 1 
VVoodhuU jJi'eacli a funeral discourse on 
•• Lord thou hast made my days as a hand- 
breadth." In my judgment he spoke 1 
well. I 

(The Mr. Wood hull above referred to by 
Mr. Asbury, was probably the Rev. -John 
WoodhuU, I). D., who succeeded Rev. Mr. 
Tennent at the old Tennent Cliurch, and 
who died Nov. 22d, 1824, aged 80 years.) 

Saturday September 10th, 1785. I had 
liberty in preaching: to the people ol' Mon- 
mouth on Joshua 24-17 and felt much for 
the souls present. (Freehold then was 
often called Monmouth and Monmouth 
Court House.) 

Friday September 22nd, 1786. We 
dinefl at Amboy and reached Monmouth 
at night. 

September 23rd, 1786. I preaclied life 
and love at Leonards* The people here 
appear very lifeless. I had lately been 
much tried and much blessed. 

Tuesday September 26tt>, 1786. I had 
many to hear me at Potter's Church, but 
the people were insensible antl unf?elini.'. 

(This Potter's Cliurch was at Goodluck 
in Ocean County, and buili by a benevo 
|pnt resident of that place named Thomas 
Potter. Its singular history will be given 
in sjjeaking of the Universalists' society.) 



From Goodluck, Bishop Asbury pro- 
ceeded to Batsto, Burlington county. In 
October, 1790, he preached at ("rosswicks, 
AUentown and Cranbury. Of his next 
visit to this county he says : 

Monday September 5th, 1791. I rode 
through much rain to Monmouth, N, J., 
wbere I preached to a considerable con- 
gregation on " The just shall live by faith ; 
but if any man draw back, my soul shall 
have no pleasure in him." There is some 
stir among the people ; at Lon^ Branch 
within eighteen months, as I am informed, 
nearly fifty souls have professed conver- 
sion. 

Sept. 6th, 1791. I found the Lord had 
not left himself without witnesses at Kettle 
Creek. 

Sept. 7th, 1791. AtP s Church (Pot- 
ter's Church?) I learn some were offended. 
Blessed be God, my soul was kept in great 
peace. 

From there Mr. Asbury proceeded to 
Little Egg Harbor, 

October 28th, 1795. We came to Mon- 
mouth ; we would have gone to Shrews- 
bury but time and our horses failed us. 1 
learn that the ancient spirit of faith and 
prayer is taking place below. I was shock- 
ed at the brutality of some men ^vho were 
fighting; one gouged out the other's eye ; 
the father and son then both beset him 
again, cut oft' his ears and nose and beat 
him almost to death ; the father and son 
were tried for a breach of the peace and 
roundly fined ; and now the man that has 
lost his nose is come upon them for dam- 
age. I have often thought that there are 
some things practiced in the Jersie's which 
are more brutish and diabolical than in 
any cth-sr of the states ; there is nothing 
of this kind in New England ; they learn 
civility there at least 

We rode twenty miles to Em ley's Church 
where the great revival of religion was 
some years ago. I felt a little of the old 
good spirit there still. 

May 30th, 1806. I preached at Lower 
Freeliold. I came home with Simon Pyle. 
Ah ! what a death there i.s in the Leonard 
family. 

May 1st, 1806. 1 breakfasted with Throck- 
morton ; his loss is his gain — he has lost 
his birthright as a citizens of the state but 
he has the blessing of God on his soul 

Sunday April 23rd, 1809. I preached at 
Tuckerton ; my subject was 2 Cor. 4-2. In 
the afternoon I preached again. On Mod- 
day I preached at Waretown. I staid 
awhile with Samuel Brown and came to 



102 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Thomas Chnmberlain's ; I was eompellen 
t)y uncomfortable feeling to go to rest at 
six o'clock. At David WoodmanseV (Good- 
luck ?) on Tuesday I preached on 2nd Tim. 
2—15. On Wednesday after a rain I set 
out for Polhemus' chapel (Polliemus Mills) 
where I preached. My friends were ex- 
ceedingly kind and T was very sicK. I 
rose unwell on Thursday and took medi- 
cine and set out foi'iSquan river. My host 
here, Derrick I^ongstreet, has been married 
twenty-four years : his wife once had twins 
and she has made him the father of six 
teen children all of whom are sound and 
well. I had a noble cont^regation here of 
women and children ; the mrn were gen- 
erally gone from the neighborhood, either 
to the waters or to work. I was seriously 
unwell. On Friday at Newman's at Shark 
river I had women not a few. I suited my 
subject to my hearers and preached from 
Luke 10. 44-42. Ah ! how many Marthas' 
and how few Mary*- ! In the afternoon I 
spoke again at P. White's. We have meet- 
ings twice a day and sometimes at night, 
and the prospects are pleasing. The weath- 
er is severely cold. 

Sunday, September 80th, 1809. At Long 
Branch my subject was Acts 3-26. It was 
given me to speak in strong words, words 
of God and from God At 3 o'clock I 
preached in the Episcopal church at 
Shrewsbury. I came home with John 
Throckmorton. 

Monday, May 10th 1813. 1 preached at 
Allentown, nearly two hours and haOi gra- 
cious access to God and to tiuili. We lodged 
with John Hughes. I am filled with God. 

Rev. William Mills — An Old Monmoith 

Preacher; a Hero of the war and a 

Soldier of the Cross. 

The following sketch of Mi'. Mills is by 
Rev. George A. Raybold, author of Metho- 
dism in We.'-t Jersey, whose ministrations 
in Monmouth county some forty odd years 
ago are so favorabh remembered by many 
of our older citizens. 

"Mr. Mills was a native of Monmouth, 
of Quaker descent. The fire oT i»atriotic 
feeling irduced him, Quaker as he was, in 
1776, to enter the American army in which 
he became an officer. He was taken pris- 
onei' by the British and was st nt, ai'ter h<f. 
ing changed from one vessel to another, 
to the West Ii.di(s. At length he was 
carried to Euroi)e, from whence at the 
close of the war, he returned home and 
again settled in New lersey. About the 
year 1792 the Melhodi,-t preacheis came 



into the region of country where he re- 
sided. His wife solicited him to hear them, 
but he resisted : stating his belief that he 
had been so wicked his day of grace was 
past. By a remarkable dream he was at 
length convinced tliat there was mercy for 
him. He tlie i attended the means of 
grace, until as besought the Lord with all 
his heart, lie soon found mercy and peace 
through faith in Jesus. He became a mem- 
ber of the first clays formed in tlie vicinity 
of Shrewsburj in Monmouth. Soon after 
he found the Lord, he began to exliort 
other.'j and was aj)pointeel cia^s leader; and 
in the spring of 1799 he wa^ received into 
the travelling connexior,. His lal'Ois as nn 
itinerant began on Milford circuit, Dela- 

! ware, from whence he was se-nt to various 
places and finally returned to Jers-ey. In 
1813 he was sent to Freehold, the place of 

j his nativity and the first field of his Chris- 

! tian efforts. The soldier who had faced 
death at the cannon's mouth on the land 

{ and on tlie sea, now, as liis end api)roached 
in reality felt no fear. He had a i^resenti- 
ment oi his death and told his wife that 
'" death seemed to follow him everywhere.'" 
His zeal for God and labors for the salvi- 
tion of ^ouls increase<l. 'i'lie last tim- he 
leit home he gave his wife sundry direc- 
tions and advices in case he should die. 
He started as well as usual, and filled all 

I his appointments, i)reaehing most fervent- 

i Iv until a short lime l)efore his death. Ou 
the 4th of December he left Long Branch, 
met class, and then returned to Mr. Lii>- 
jjencott's at the Branch. On Sunday morn- 

j ing he went into a room in Mr. Lippen- 

I colt's to prepare for the service in the 
church, which was to commence at half 

j past ten o'clock. The congregation was 
then collecting and the family, thinking 

1 he stayed too long in the chamber sent in 
to know the cause and found him fallen in 
a fit of apoplexy, almost deprived of sense. 
After a time he revived a little and on be- 
ing asked if they should send for medicai 
aid, he replied, " The Lord is the best phy- 
sician." At about twelve o'clock the stu 
por and other unfavorable .symptoms re- 
turned ; he lingered until about six the 
next morniif^' and then peacefully depart- 
ed for a worhl of rest. Thus suddenlv fell 
into tlie arms ot death anotlier faithful 
minister of the gospel ; a zealous, faithful 
and acceptable preacber; an Israelite, in- 
det»d, in whom there was no guile; long 
however has he lived in the atfectionate 
remembrance of the i)eople of West Jer- 
sey, who knew him well." 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



103 



In the year 1812, the year previous to 
Mr. Mills being sent to preach in Freehold 
circuit, the number of members embraced 
in the charge was seven hundred and thir- 
ty-six. 



MONMOUTH COUNTY- 
ESTABLISHED. 



-WHEN 



OFi'lCIALS ONE HUNDRKD AND NINETY YEARS 
AGO. 



The name Monmouth was officially giv- 
en to the county Marcli 7th, 1683, as will 
be seen by the following extracts: 

" Att a Council! held the 7th day of the 
mo-1 called March 168s ***** 

^' A bill sent downe from the Deputyes 
for devideing liie p'vince into County es 
read and agreed vtno." — Journal oj Proceed- 
ings oj Gov. d- Counci/, 1682 — 1703. 

The following is an extract from the 
bill referred to: 

•'At a General Assembly begun and 
liolden at Elizabethtown in this Province 
of East New Jersey, tbe first day of the 
Montii called Marcli Anno Domini 1682 
and in the Five and Thirtieth year of the 
reign of King Cliailes tlie Sec^ond, over 
England &e, and there continueil by sev- 
eral adjournments thereof until the twenty 
eight day ot tlie said Month (if March, f<>r 
the public Weale of this Province was 
Enacted as follows: 

*** *** *** 

" IV. An Act to divide (he Province into 
Four Counties. — Having taken into consid- 
eration the necessity of dividing the Prov- 
ince into respective C unties lor the bet- 
ter governing and settling Courls in the 
same : — 

"5(; it Ei'Qcted, by this Gem-ral Assembly, 
ainl the Authority '.hereof, that this Piov 
ince be divided into fair couniies as fol- 
luweth : (Here loUows the bounds of Ber- 
gen, Essex, and Middlesex, after which 
the bounds of Monmouth are given as fol- 
lows :) 

'• Monmouth Counti/ to begin at the West- 
ward BouiKts ot Middlesex county, con 
taiiiing Middletown and Shrewsbury and 
so extend Westward, Sv)uthward, bmX 
Northward to ihe extream Bounds of the 
Pi-ovince. Provided this distinction of 
the Province into ( ounties, do not extend 
to the iiifiingemeiit of any Libei'ty in any 
Charter already granted." — Leaminci and 
Spicer. 



The Legal and the Historical Year — 
Discrepancies Explained. 

In the foregoing may be noticed an ap- 
parent discrepancy in giving the year 
when the act referred to was passed. — 
Some authorities give the date as March, 
1683; the "Journal of the Proceedings of 
the Governor and Council of the Province 
of East New Jersey, from 1682 to 1703," 
\ gives the date as March 168|, which leaves 
I the general reader in doubt as to which 
year is meant — 16S2 or 1683; and " Learn- 
ing & Spicer's Grants and Concessions," 
published in 1752, exj^ressly snys the act 
I was passed in March, 1682. This appar- 
ent discrepancy is explained by the fact 
I that at that time the English legal year 
j commenced March 2.5lh ; hence the legal 
year 1682 began March 25th, 1682, and 
I ended March 24th, 1683. (See Leaming 
and Spicer, p 74 ;) and all acts passed in 
I 1683 previous to March 25th, would be 
; dated the legal year 1682. In the Journal 
i of the Proceedings of the Legislature 
' from 1682 to 1703, before referred to, two 
dates are given in such a manner that it 
' would seem quite puzzling were it not for 
this explanation. On page 32 the date of 
the meeting of the Co ncil is March 24th, 
! 168|. As March 25th, was Sunday the 
next daily session was March 26th, when 
the ye^r is given as 1683. \fi ancient 
records when a date is given with what 
seems a fraction at the righthand, as in 
the case above mentioned, 168f, the mean- 
ing is tliat the upper figure gives the le- 
gal year and the lower one the historical 
year. 

Origin of the Name of the County. 
The name Monmouth was given to the 
county throutrh the influence ot Col. Lewis 
Morris who at the beginning of this ses- 
sion (March 1st,) was said to have been 
•' Elected for Shrewsbury " as a De[)uty, 
but his place declared vacant, probably 
because he had been selected by the Gov- 
ernor as a member of the council at that 
time. 

Colonel Morris had purchased a large 
tract of land, in what wa- af'erwurds 
known as Monmouth County, October 
25th, 1676, said to contain 3540 acres, 
whereupon he located, as described in 
168t), "his iron mills, his Manors, and 
divers other liuildings for his servants and 
dependants: together with 60 or 70 ne- 
groes about the Mill and IIust)<indiy. I'o 
this plantiition he gave the name of Tm- 
tern (corrupted afterwards toTinton) after 



104 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



an estate which had belonged to the fami- 
ly in Monmouthshire, England, and from 
h m Monmouth county received its 
name." 

Col. Lewis Morris, Josepli Parker, Peter 
Tilton and John Hance of Siirewsbury ; 
and John Bowiie and Jolm Throgmorton 
(Tlirockmorton ?) of Middletown. Riciiard 
Grardnei' was elected Cleric of the County 
Courts, Richard Ilartsiioine Ilitrh Sheritf. 
and Richard Lippencott coioner. Rich- 
ard Ilartshorne tendered his resignation 
as .Sheriff the following May, but il was 
not accepted ; he appears to have refused 
to sei've still, and May 31st Eliakim War- 
dell of iShiewsbuy was elected. 

In tjie act erecting County Courts it is 
enacted that "the Judge or Justices of 
the respective sessions of the County 
Courts shall be the Justices of the Peace 
of tlie said respective counties or three of 
them at least." Col. Morris was probably 
presiding judge. The following year tlu' 
same justices were reelected, with the ad- 
dition of James Grover of Middletown. 

Two or three days after the passage of 
the acts establishing the two Courts above 
leferred to the General Assembly passed 
" A Bill to settle the Court of Common 
Right," whicii was ''the .Sujiream Court of 
this Province," to which actions or suits 
from lower Courts, the debts or damages of 
which were five pounds or upwards, could 
be removed, and which had power to 
" Correct Errors in Judgement and reverse 
the same if there be just cause for the 
same." Uf this Court the first members 
from Monmouth were Col. Lewis Morris 

(The learned, indefiUigable correspond- 
ing .Secretary of tlie ^ew Jersey Historical 
.Society, Hon. Wm. A. Whitehead, to 
whom our state is indebted more than to 
any other person for effoits to preserve 
the fading records of the i)ast history of 
New Jersey, and to whom we have been 
indebted for several items in these chap 
ters, a few years ago published a sketch of 
Col. Morris's life to which we may refer 
hereafter.) 

As to the probability of some ot the 
prominent early settlers favoring Col. 
Morris's propositon to name the county 
Monmouth, because of a friendly feeling 
for the Duke of Monmouth, beheaded a 
few years later, we shall endeavor to speak 
hereai'ter. 

COURTS ESTAULISIIED AM) OFFICF.KS API'OlNTfcD. 

On the 13th of March, 1G83, two acts 
were passed under the following titles : 



'•An Act to erect a Court of small Causes " 
and ''An Act to Erect County Couits." — 
The Couit for the trial of small causes was 
to \>e held in every township the first 
Wednesday of every month, and to have 
juiisdiction for " deteimening small 
CJiuses and debts under foity shillings." 

The act establishing County Courts fix- 
efl the following times and places for ses- 
sions in Morimouth, viz : 

"The County of Monmouth, their ses- 
sions to be the fouith Tuesday in March 
in the public meeting house at Middle- 
town yearly. The fouith Tuesday in June 
in the public meeting house at ."Shrews- 
bury yearly. The fourth Tuesday in Sep- 
tember in tlie public meeting house at 
Middleiewn, and the fourth Tuesday in 
December in the public meeting house in 
.Shrewsbury." 

The next day after the passage of the 
above acts (on March 14th, 1683.) Lewis 
Morr's, jr., was elected by the Council 
•' high Sheriff for the succeeding yeare 
from tne 25th of this Listant Month." 
which he probably declined, as Richard 
Plartshorne was confirmed for the same 
office some ten days subsequently. 

The following were the first Justices of 
the Peace apjtointed for Monmouth Coun- 
ty (March 24th, 1683), viz: 
(by virtue of being a member of the Coun- 
cil) and John Bowne. 

During the same> session (March, 1683), 
the following persons were authorized " to 
make and settle highways, ))assages, land- 
ings, bridges and ferries" in the county, 
viz : 

The .Surveyor-General .Samuel Groome, 
Col. Lewis Morris, Capt. John Bound, 
Richard Hartshoino, John Hance, Joseph 
Parker, Lewis Morris, jun. 

Among the members of "The General 
Assembly of the Pi'ovince of East New- 
Jersey" which met at Elizabethtown 
Marcli 1st, 1683, were, from Monmouth, 
Colonel Lewis Morris of the Council, and 
Richard Hartshoine, lolin Bowne, Joseph 
Parker and John ILince, Deputies. 

When Monmouth County was establish- 
ed its i)opulation was supposed to be be- 
tween nine hundred and one thousand. — 
.Secretary Nicholls (of N. Y.) estimated 
the po])ulation in 1682 of .Shrewsbury at 
four hundred inhabitants ; and Middle- 
town one hundred families whicli woidd 
probably be al)out five hundreil inhabi- 
tan ts. 



OLD TIMKS IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



105 



An Act for the Militia — First Offi- 
cers IN Monmouth. 

An act with the above title was passed 
De-cember 1st, 1683, and December 3d it 
was ordered for the better settling and ex- 
ercise of the Militia under its provisions 
•'that there bee one Major, and so many 
Capiaines Com'issionated in each County 
as there be inhabitants to make up Cora 
panyes." For the County of Monmouth 
Captain John Bound was commissioned 
MHJor, and for Middletown James Grover 
Lieutenant, Safety Grover Ensign. For 
Shrewsbury, John Slocomb Ciiptain, Geo. 
Stowlett Lieutenant, and Lewis Morris En- 
sign. 

The Act for the Militia ordered that ev- 
ery male person between the ages of six- 
teen and sixty should be provided with 
aims, equipments, ammunition, &c., at his 
own expense under penalty of prescribed 
fines for each article not provided. A Ser- 
jeant and corporal were authorized " to 
view arms every quarter or as often as the 
officer shall see cause." It was enacted that 
there should be four training or muster- 
ing days in a year, " two in the Spring 
and two in the Fall of the Leaf," under 
prescribed penalties. 

CuiEF Eanger of Monmoutu. 

December 3d, 1683, Captain John Slo- 
comb was appointed "Chief Kanger " for 
Monmouth County. The duty of this offi- 
cer is thus described : 

" f^orasmuch as many abuses are and 
have been committed within this Province, 
in the taking up, marking, selling and dis- 
posing of horses, mares and geldings * * 
be it enacted that there shall be one per- 
son appointed for eacli County who shall 
take up and receive all strays, register the 
same <&c." The Chief Ranger was author- 
ized to employ as many deputies as he 
thought proper. The importers of all cat- 
tle and horses were required lo furnish 
the Ranger witii a description of each 
head imported, and all drovers were re 
quired to do the same The fees and pen- 
alties under the act must have made the 
oflBce of the Ranger of considerable im- 
portance. 

How Taxes were Levied — Assembly 
men's Salaries. 

The following persons were appointed 
to make assessment of taxes in Monmouth 
under an act passed Dec. 5th, 1683, viz : 

Captain John Bound, John Throgmor- 
ton (Throckmorton ?) Peter Tilton, John 
Hance, Judah Allen and Joseph Parker. 



This act " for defraying the public char- 
ges of this Province," enacted that fifty 
pounds be raised to defray public charges 
as follows : Bergen eleven pounds, Essex 
fourteen pounds, Middlesex ten pounds, 
Monmouth fifteen pounds. By this it 
would seem that even at this early date 
Monmouth v^as considered the richest 
county in East Jersey. 

The taxes were to be paid in wheat at 
four shillings and sixpence the bushel; 
summer wheat at four shillings the bush- 
el ; Indian corn at two shillings and six- 
pence the bushel ; and good merchantable 
pork at fifty shillings the barrel. Henry 
Lyon of Essex was appointed Treasurer of 
the Province to whom the tax was to be 
handed for the purpose of paying the 
clerks of the Council and Deputies four 
shillings each per day and ten pounds for 
transcribing the laws. 

In addition to the above tax each town 
was required to pay its own Deputy to the 
General Assembly at the ra^e of four shil- 
lings per day ; the year previous the rate 
of pay for the Deputies had been three 
shillings each, and as many of the towns 
had failed to pay their lepresentativt s 
then, provisions v/ere inserted in tnis act 
to enforce the assessing and collecting the 
arrearages. 

A fair idea of how far a member of the 
Assembly's per diem would go then to- 
wards meeting his expenses is gained by 
noticing the 'j)rices fixed for grain in the 
bill. The first year his per diem would 
buy a little over a bushel of corn ; the sec- 
ond year a bushel of summer wheat. If 
he expended it for pork it would buy six- 
teen pounds. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT MIDDLE- 
TOWN. 



The First Baptist Church in New Jersey. 

Its Members, Pastors, Trials and 

Triumphs. 



Thefollowing sketch of the noted church 
is from " Morgan Edwards, Materials, &c., 
of the State," published in 1792, with ad- 
ditions by Rev. David Benedict of Rhode 
Island, t.nd published in his History of the 
Baptists, sixty years ago, (1813.) 

" This is the oldest Baptist church in 
the State ; it is thus distin^iuished for the 
village where the meeting house stands in 
a township of the same name, and county 
of Monmouth, about seventy-nine miles 
E. N. E. from Philadelphia. The meeting 



106 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



house is forfy-two feet by thirty-two, erect- 
ed on the lot where the old place of wor- 
ship stood." 

For the origin of this churcli, we must 
look back to the year 1667, for that was 
I he year when Middletown was purchased 
fiom the Indians by 12 men and 24 asso- 
ciates. Their names are in the town 
book. Of them the following were Bap- 
tists:— 

Richard Stout, Willium riieesenmii, William Layton, 

John Stout, Jolui Wilson, Wm. Compton, 

.lames Grover, Walter Hall, .Tames Ashtoii, 

.7on'than Brown, John fox. John Brown, 

Qliadiah Holmes, Jonathau Holmes, Thos Whitlock, 

John Biickmaii, George Mount, Ja-i. Grover, jr. 

Jt IS probable tliat some of the above 
had wives and children of their own way 
of thinking; however the forenamed 18 
men ai)23ear to have been the constituents 
of the church at Middletown. and the 
winter rf 1668 the time. 

flow matters went on among these peo- 
ple, for a period of twenty-four years, viz., 
from the constitution to 1712, cannot be 
known. But in the year 1711, a variance 
arose in the church, insomuch that one j 
party excommunicated the other and 
imposed silence on two gifted brothers 
that priached to them, viz , John Bray and 
John Okison. Wearied witli their situa- 
tion, they agreed to refer matters to a 
council congregated fi'om neighboring 
churches. The council met May 12th. 
1712. It consisted of Kev. Messrs Timothy 
Brooks, of Cohansey : Abel Morgan and 
Joseph Wood, of Penn^pek ; and Elisha 
Thomas, of Welsh Tract; with six elders, 
viz : Nicholas Johnson, James James, 
Grifiith Mills, Edward Church, William 
Bettridge and John Manners. Their ad- 
vice was— "To bury tlie proceedings in ob- 
livion and erase therfcoids of them ;" 
accordingly four leaves aie torn out of the 
church bock. " To continue the silence 
imposed on John Bray and John Okison, 
the preceding year." One would think by 
this that these two brethren were the 
cause of the disturbance. " To sign a 
covenant relative to their future conduct ;" 
accordingly 42 did sign and 26 refused; 
nevertheless most of the non -signers came 
in afterwards: but the first 42 were de- 
clared to be the church that should be 
owned by sister churches. "That Messrs. 
Abel Morgan, Sen., and John Burrows, 
should supply the pul{>it till the next 
yearly meeting, and the members should 
kee[) their j)liices and not waudcr in otJuT 
societies," for at this time there wav ,i 



Presbyterian congregation at Middletown, 
and mixed communion in vogue. 

The first who preached at Middletown 
was Mr. John Bown, ofwhomwecan learn 
no more than he was not ordained, and 
that it was he who gave the lot on which 
the first meeting house was built. Cotem- 
porary witli liini was Mr. Ashton, of whom 
menMon will be made hereaft«:r, and after 
him rose the foiementioned Bray and Oki- 
son, neither of whom were ordained and 
the latter disowned. Mr. George Eagles- 
field was another unordained preacher; 
but the first that may be styled pastor 
was — 

Rev. James Ashton. — He probably was 
ordained by Rev. Thomas Killingsworth, 
at the time the church was constituted in 
1688 ; for Killingsworth assisted at the 
constitution, which gave rise to the tradi- 
tion that he was the first minister. Mr. 
Ashton's successor was — 

Rev. John Barrowes. — He was born at 
Tannton, Somersetshire, Englandj and 
there ordained ; arrived at Philadelph a in 
the month of November, 1711, and from 
thence came toMiddletown in 1713, wl ere 
he died at a good old age. Mr. Barrowes 
is said to have been a happy compound of 
gravity and facetiousress ; the one made 
the people stand in awe of him. while the 
other produced familiarity. As be was 
travelling one day a young man passed by 
him at full speed, and in passing Mr. Bar- 
rowes : said " If you would consider where 
you are going you would slacken your 
pace." He went on but presently turned 
back to inquire into the meaning of that 
passing salute. Mr. Barrowes reasoned 
with him on the folly and dangers of 
horse-racing (to which the youth was hast- 
ening ;) he gave great attention to the re- 
proof. This encouraged Mr. B."rrowes to 
proceed to more serious matters. The is- 
sue was a serious conveisatir.n. Here was 
a bow drawn at venture and a sinner 
shot flying! Mr. Barrc wes'was succeed( d 

by- 

Rev. a bei, Morgan, A. M — He was born 
in Welsh Tract, April 13th. 1713, had his 
learning at an acad'^my kept by Rev. 
Thomas P^vans in Pencadcr: ordained at 
Welsh Tract in 1734, became pastor in 
1748; died there November 24th, 1785.— 
He was never married, the reason it is 
supposed that none of his attention and 
attendance might be taken off his mother, 
who lived with him and wlnmi he honor- 
('(1 1(1 an uncommi n degree Mr. Morgan 
wiis a man ol sound leaniiiii: aiul solid 



OLD TIME8 IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



10 7 



judgement; he has given specimens of 
both in his public disputes and publica- 
tions, for it appears that he held two pub- 
lic disjiutes on the subject of baptism. — 
The first was at Kingswood, to which he 
was challenged by Rev. fSamuel Plarker, a 
Presbyterian minister. The other was at 
Cape May in 1743, with the Rev. (after- 
wards) Dr. Samuel Finley, President of 
Princeton College. Mr. Morgan's success- 
or was — 

Rev Samuel Morgan. — He was born in 
Welsh Tract August 23d, 1750; called to 
the ministry in Virginia; ordained at Mid- 
dleiovvn November 29th, 1785, at which 
time lio took on him the care of the 
chuich. No account of Mr, Morgan's 
death has been obiained. This ancient 
church has for its pastor (1813) Mr. Ben- 
jamin Bennett, It was once well endowed 
but a considerable part of its tempurali- 
ties were sunk by that sacrilegious thing 
(as Edwards calls it) Congress money. — 
What are its present posessions I have not 
learned. 



PHILIP FRKNEAU, THE POPULAR 
POET OF THE REVOLUTION. 



An Ancient Monmouth Journal. 



Inthelibrary oftho New York Historical 
Society is preserved a copy of an ancient 
journal published in Monmouth county, 
-vhich presents quite a contrast with the 
papers published in the county at the pres- 
ent time. This jom^nal was called " The 
New Jersey Chronicle,'''' and was published 
at " Mount Pleasant, near Middletown 
Point." The first number was issued May 
2nd, 1795 and continued weekly for a year 
when it suspended for want of sup^^ort. 
This Chronicle was quite a curious affiiir. 
It was printed by the author, Philip Fre- 
neau himself, who had mustered a medley 
of types for the purpose. The first num- 
ber wa^' of the humble dimensions of eight 
small quarto ])ages of seven inches by 
eight. This spirited little paper was soon 
enlarged, but typographically, at least, it 
always appeared of a somewhat sickly con- 
stitution. 

The office types however wer<» well em- 
ployed in printing, this year, 1795, a new 
and comprehensive edition of Freneau's 
poems, in an octavo volume of 456 pages 
to which we shall re'er before concluding. 
Its typographical execution is admirable 
for its day and speaks well for tlie pioneer 
printing press of Monmouth countj. 



^voxa one sketch of Freneau's we ex- 
tract the following : 

Outline of his Life. 

FTulip Freneau, the popular poet of the 
days of the Revolution, who cheered the 
hearts of the citizens by his ready rhymes 
in behalf of the good cause, and opposition 
to its foes, while patriots were struggling 
for independence, was born in Frankfort 
street, in New York city, January 2nd, 1752. 
The family was of French Hugenot des- 
cent. Pierre Freneau the father of Philip 
and of Peter Freneau, distinguished in the 
history of South Carolina, bought an es- 
tate ot a thousand acres at Mount Pleas- 
ant, Monmouth county. New Jersey, a fam- 
ily inheritance which his son afterwards 
occupied, and where he wrote many of his 
poems. Boih the father and grandfather 
of Philip Freneau are buried in a vault in 
Trinity Churchyard, New York, by the side 
of their family relations. 

Of the boyhood ot Philip Freneau we 
know little, but we may infer from the po- 
sition of his family and his subsequent at 
taininents, that he was well instructed at 
the schools of the city, for we find him, in 
1767, a student at Princeton College, N, J., 
where he graduated with credit after the 
usual four years course, in 1771. He be- 
gan early the practice of versification ; for 
in his sophomore year, at the age of seven- 
teen, he composed a rhymed poem of de- 
cided promise, entitled "The Poetical His- 
tory of the Prophet Jonah," which appeal's 
at the head of his first general collection 
of poems. Other compositions in various 
metres, on classical and historical themes, 
preseived in the same volume, were writ- 
ten during his collegiate course. 

It was a creditable year for the institu- 
tion when he graduated, for in his class 
weie James Madison, afterwards President, 
and other men ot note. 

The commencement exercises at Prince- 
ton, in 1771 were of unusual interest. It 
was in the Presidency of that eminent jja- 
triot John Witlier.-^poon, who, though born 
in Scotland, was proving himself, by his 
enlightened sagacity and ievotion to free- 
dom, an '' American of the Ameiicans." 
Tlie political indrpendence of the country, 
though not yet formally proclaimed, was 
ripening in Massachusetts and elsewhere, 
to its great Ueclaration and invincible re- 
solve. The young patriots of 'Princeton, 
on a spot destined to be^'ome memorable 
in the struggle, were already animated by 
the kindling promise of the future. Hugh 



108 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Henry Brackenridge, a graduate with Fre- 
neau, afterwards a celebrated Judge and 
author, and Freneau, had already developed 
a taste for poetry, and they united, for 
their commencement exercise, in the com- 
position of a dialogue : '' A Poem on the 
Rising Glory of America," which they pro- 
nounced together, sounding in animated 
blank verse, the achievements of coloniza- 
tion in the pnst and the visionary grandeur 
of empire liereafter. This joint poem was 
published in Philadelphia, in 1772. The 
portion written by Fieneau opens the col- 
lection of his poems published in 1865 by 
W. J. Middleton, New York. 

The next information we have of Fre- 
neau is gathered from the dates of the 
poems which he contributed to the jour- 
nals publislied by Hu^h Gaine and Ander- 
son, in New York, in 1775. They exhibit 
his interest in the important military af- 
fairs of the year in Boston and are found 
in the work above named. 

In a poem of this year, '" Mac Sniggen," 
a satire on some hostile poetaster, he ex- 
presses a desire to cross the Atlantic : 

" Long have I sat on this disast'rous shore, 
And sighing, sought to gain a passage o'er 
To Europe's towns, where, as our travellers say, 
Poets may flourish, or perhaps they may ;" 

An inclination for foreign travel, which 
was gratified in 1776, bj'^ a voyage to the 
West Indies, where he appears to have i-e- 
mained some time in a mercantile capaci- 
ty, visiting Jamaica and the Danish island 
of Santa Cruz. Several of his most strik- 
ing poems, as the " Hoiise of Night," and 
the " Beauties of Santa Cruz," were writ- 
ten on these visits. 

In 1779, Freneau was engaged as a lead- 
ing contributor to " The United States 
Magazine : A Repository of History, Poli- 
tics and Literature," edited by his college 
friend and fellow patriot, Hugh Henry 
Brackenridge, and published by Francis 
Bailey, Philadelphia. It was issued month- 
ly from January to December, when its 
discontinuance was announced " until an 
established peace and a fixed value of the 
monev shall render it convenient or pos- 
sible to take it up again." The volume 
forms a most interesting memorial, in its 
literary as well as historical matter, of this 
important year of the war. Freneau wrote 
much for it in prose and verse and with 
equal spirit m both. 

His poem on "SantaCruz," in this mag- 
azine, is prefaced by an interesting prose 
pescription of the island. In it occurs a 



noticeable testimony of the author on the 
subject of negro slavery. 

Freneau has also recorded his detesta- 
tion of the cruelties of West India slavery 
in verse, in the poem, a terrific picture of 
slave life, addressed " To Sir Toby, a sugar 
planter in the interior parts of Jamaica:" 

" If there exists a Hell — the case is clear — 
Sir Tob3''s slaves enjoy that portion here." 

In another poem " On the Emigration 
to America, and Peopling the Western 
Country," published in his volume of 1795, 
Freneau comes nearer home, in the decla- 
ration of his opinions on this subject, when 
he writes : — 

" come the time and haste the day, 
When man shall man no longer crush, 

When reason shall enforce her sway, 
Nor these fair regions raise our blush, 

Where still the African complains, 

And mourns his yet unbroken chiiins." 

In after life, when the poet himself, un- 
der the mild system of Northern .servitude, 
became the owner of slaves in New Jersey, 
he uniformly treated them with kindness, 
manumitted them in advance of the Eman- 
cipation Act in tlie State, and sui)ported 
on the farm those of them who were not 
able to take care of themselves. One of 
these, a veteran mammy, proud of having 
opened the door in her day to General 
Washington and been addressed by him 
in a word or two on that important occa 
sion, long survived the poet. 

In the year following the publication of 
the Magazine, Freneau, having embarked 
as passenger in a merchant vessel from 
Philadelphia, on another voyage to the 
West Indies, was captured by a British 
cruiser off the Capes of the Delaware and 
carried with the prize to New York. There 
he was confined, on his ari'ival, in the Scor- 
pion, one of the hulks lying in the harbor 
used as prison-ships. The cruel treatment 
which he experienced on board, with the 
aggravated horrors of foul air and other 
privations, speedily threw him into a fever, 
when he was transferred to the host)ital 
ship. Hunter, which proved 8imj)ly an ex- 
change of one. species of suffering for anoth- 
er more aggravated. How long Fieneau 
was confined in this hideous prison we are 
not informed, nor by what influences he 
gaiiied his discharge. He carried with him. 
however, on his escape, a burning memory 
of the severities and indignities he had en- 
dured, which he gave expression to in one 
of the most characteristic of his poetical 
productions, " The British Prison Ship," 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



109 



which was published by Francis Bailey, 
Philadelphia, 1781. 

Freneau now became a frequent contrib- 
utor of patriotic odes and occasional poems, 
celebratinj; the incidents of the war, to 
" The Freeman's Journal " of Phihidelphia. 
Literature was, however, not then a profit- 
able occupation : and Government, which 
had exhausted its resources in keeping an 
array in the field, had scant opportunity 
of rewarding its champions. The poet, 
looking to other means of subsistence, re- 
turned to liis seafaring and mercantile hab 
its and became known by his voyages to 
the West Indies as "Captain Freneau." 
He still however, kept up the use of the 
pen. In 1783, besides his poetical contrib-yj' 
utions to the newspapers, including several 
New Years Addresses, written for the car- 
riers of rhe Philadelphiajourna's, a spcies 
of rhyming for which he had great facility, 
we find him publishing in that city a trans- 
lation of the Iravel? of M. Abbe Robin, the 
chaplain of Count Rochambeau, giving an 
account of the progress of the French ar 
my from Newport to Yorktown. In 1784 
Freneau was at the island of Jamaica, writ- 
ing a poetical description of Port Royal. 

The first collection of his poetical writ- 
ings wiiich he made, entitled " The Poems 
of Philip Freneau, written chiefly during 
the iate War," was published by Francis 
Biiley "at Yorrick's Head, in Market 
street, " Philadelphia, in 1786. It is pre- 
faced by a brief " Advertisement" signed 
by the publisher, in which he states the 
pieces now joUecied had been left in his 
hands by the author more than a year pre- 
viously, with permission to publish them 
wh-never he Ihougat proper. 

The success of this volume led to t:he 
publication, by Mr. Bailey, of another col- 
lection of Freneau's writings in 1788. It 
is entitled *'The Miscellai eous Works of 
Mr. Philip Freneau, containing his Essays 
and Additional Poems." This volume, as 
not uncommon even with works of very 
limited extent in that early period of the 
nation, was published by subscription. 
Among the subscribers were DeWitt Clin- 
ton, Edward Livingston and other distin- 
guished citizens of New York ; Matthew 
Carey, David llittenhouse, John Parke A. 
M., and others el' Plii'.ndelphia ; thirty cop- 
ies were taken in Maryland ; but the larg- 
est number was contributed tiy South Car- 
olina, that State supplying tivo hundred 
and fifty, or more than half the entire list. 
Captain Freneau was well known and high- 
ly appreciated at Charleston, which he fre- 



quently visited in the course of his mer- 
cantile adventures to the West Indies, and 
where his younger brother, Peter, who sub- 
sequently edited a political journal in that 
city, and was in intimate correspondence 
with President Jefferson, was already es- 
tablished as an influential citizen. 

After several years spent in voyaging, 
we find Freneau again in active literary 
employment in 1791, as editor of the " Dai- 
ly Advertiser," a journal printed in JN'pw 
York, the superintendence of which he 
presently exchanged for that of the *' Na- 
tional Gazette," at Philadelphia, the first 
number of which appeared under his direc- 
tion in October of the same year. He was 
employed at the same time by Jefferson, 
the fSecretary of State, — the seat of govern- 
ment being th^n at Philadelphia, — as 
translating clerk in the State Dei^artment, 
with a salary of two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars a year. It was a time of fierce p®liti- 
cal excitement, when the newly framed 
Constitution, not yet fully established in 
its working, was exposed to the fierce crit- 
icism of its adversaries ; while popular opin- 
ion was greatly excited by the rising tu- 
mult of ideas generated in the French Rev- 
olution. In this strife of parties Freneau 
was an active partisan of the new French 
ideas, was a supporter of Genet, the minis- 
ter who sought to entangle the country in 
the great European struggle, and, as might 
be expected, was an unsparing assailant of 
the policy of Washington, whose character 
he had heretofore eulogized. Washington 
was annoyed, and Hamilton attacked Jef- 
ferson for his oflBcial support of the ti'oub- 
lesome editor. Jefferson replied that he 
had befriended Freneau as a man of gen- 
ius ; but that he had never written for his 
pajjer. It is unquestionably true, however, 
that Freneau's political writings, at this 
time, had Jefferson's warmest sympathy. 

The "Gazette " came to an end with its 
second volume and second year, in 1793, 
after which Freneau became a resident of 
New Jersey. He had still, however, an in- 
clination to editorial life, and we accord 
ingly find him, in the spring of 1795, pub- 
lishing at Mount Pleasant, near Middle- 
town Point, a new journal entitled "The 
Jersey Ciironicle," before alluded to. 

The same year from his jirei-s at Mount 
Pleasant he "issued a volume of his poems 
entitled " Poenis, written between the 
years 1768 and 1794, by Philip Freneau, of 
New Jersey." There are other edUions of 
his poems, but this one is so rare that it is 
highly priz?d by antiquarians. In a late 



110 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



catalogue of a London bookseller It is ad 
vertised for sale, price £ 3.10 s. The last 
copy we have heard of for sale in this coun- 
try was one in a Washiniiton antiquarian 
bookstore for which the dealer asked some 
forty odd dollars, and finally got down to 
thirty-fiv^f, for a small octavo volume of 456 
pages ! 

In 1797 he edited and aided in piinlinj; 
and publishing in New York, a miscellane- 
ous periodical entitled "'''he Time Piece 
and Literary Companion."' It was primed 
in quarto form and appealed three times a 
week. In 1799 he published in Philadel- 
phia a thin octavo volume of " Letters on 
various subjects, cfcc." under the nom de 
plume of " Robert Slender, A M." 

For some years after this we have no par- 
ticular account of his occupation, but he 
appears to have resided still in New Jer- 
s«y, penning occasional verses on topics 
suggested by the day. In 1809 he published 
the fourth collection of his writings enti- 
tled ''Poems published during ilie Ameri- 
can Revolution," &c. 

( Remainder of the article on Freneau 
next week. ) 

Freneau lived to commemorate ihe in- 
dents of the second war wiii Great Britain 
in 1812. He wrote various poems celebra 
ting the naval actions of Hull, Porter, 
Macdonough and others. His traditionary 
hatred of England survives in these and 
other compositions which he puolished in 
New York, in 1815, in two small volumes 
entitled " A Collection of Poems on Ameri- 
can Ati'iiirs and a variety of other subjects. 
<{rc." A distinguished writer says in re- 
viewing this volume: " He depicts land 
battles and naval figlits with much anima- 
tion and gay coloring ; and being himself 
an old sun of Neptune, he is never at a 
loss for appropriate circumstance and ex- 
pressive diction, when the scene lies at 
sea." 

After witnessing and chronicling in his 
verse the conflicts of two wars, Freneau 
had yet many years of life before him. — 
They were mostly passed in rural retire 
ment at Mount Pleasant. He occasionally 
visited New York, keeping up acquaint- 
ance with the leaders of the Democratic 
party. ILs appearance and conservation 
at this time has been grai)hically described 
by the late Dr. -John W. Francis, in whom 
the genius and history of Freneau excited 
the warmest interest, and which was pub 
lished in the " Cyclopedia of American 
Literature." 



" I had, says Dr. Francis, when very 
young, read the poetry of Freneau. and as 
we instinctively became attached to the 
writers who first captivate our imagina- 
tions, it was with much zest that 1 formed 
a jjersonal ucqu.iintaince with tiie Revolu- 
tionary bard. He was at that time about 
seventy-six years old, when he first intro- 
duced iiimselfto nin in my lil)rary. I gave 
him an earnest welcome. He was some- 
what below the ordinary height; in per- 
son thin ytt muscular; with a f^rm step 
though a little inclined to stoop ; Ins coun- 
tenance wore traces of care, yet lightened 
with intelligence as he spoke ; he was mild 
in enunciation, neithor rapid nor slow, but 
clear, distinct and emphatic. His forehead 
was rather lieyond the medium elevation ; 
hi^ eyes a dark gray, occui^ying a socket 
deeper than common ; his hair must have 
once been beautiful ; it was now thinned 
and of an iron gray. He was free of all 
ambitious displays; his habitual expression 
was pensive. His divss might have passed 
for that of a farmer. New York, the city 
of his birth was liis most interesting theme; 
his collegiate career with Madison, next. 
His story of manj of his occasional poems 
was quite romantic. As he had at com- 
mand types and a printing press, when an 
incident of moment in the Revolution oc- 
curred, he would retire for composition, or 
find she'ter under the shade of some tree, 
indite his lyrics, repair to the press, set up 
his types and issue his productions. There 
was no difficulty in versification with him. 
I (old him what 1 had heard Jeffrey, the 
Scotch reviewer, say of his writings, that 
i}>e time would arrive when his i)oetry 
like that of Hudilras, would command a 
commentator like Grey. It is remarkable 
how tenaciously Freneau V)reserved the 
acquisitions of his eaily classical studies, 
notwithstanding he had for many years, in 
the after i)0ition of his life, been occupied 
in [nusuitb so entirely alien to l)ooks.- - 
There is no portrait of the patriot Freneau; 
he always firmly declined the painters art 
and would brook no "counterfeit present- 
ment." {Ot/clopedia of Amc7: Lit.) 

The aversion of Freneau to sitting for 
his portrait, noticed by Dr. Frrncis, was 
one of his peculiarities, for which it is not 
easy to ^suggest a sufficient explanation. 
As an author he was careful of the preser- 
vation of his fame. Certainly the cause 
was not to be found in any unfavorable 
' impression his likeness might create, for 
, he was, as accurately described by Dr. 
I Francis, of an inleresting appearance in 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Ill 



rge. In youth he was regarded as hand- 
some. His brother Peter was renowned 
in South Carolina for his personal beauty. 
But whatever the motive, Freneau reso- 
lutely declined to have his portrait painted. 
He was once waited upon by the arlist, 
Rembrandt Peale. with a request for this 
purpose, by a body of gentlemen in Phila- 
delphia ; but he was inexorable on the sub- 
ject. On another occasion, the elder Jar- 
vis, with a view of securing his likeness, 
was smuggled into a co-ner of the room at 
a dinner party at Dr. Hosack's, to which 
tiie poet had been invited ; but the latter 
detected the design and arrested its ac- 
complishment. In la*^^e years, the neglect 
has been in a measure repaired. The por- 
trait prefixed to the volume of his " poems 
vvitii a memoir by Evert A. Duyckinck,"' 
published in 1865. was sketclied by an ar- 
tist, at the suggestion and dictates of sev- 
ei'al members of the poet's family, who re- 
tained the most vivid recollection of his 
personal appear mce. It was pronounced 
b,' them a lair representation of tiie man 
in the maturity of his physical powers, 
previous to the inroads of old age. His 
daughter, Mrs. Leadbeater, and his grand- 
son and adopted son, Mr. Philip L. Fre- 
neau, of New York, were amoiig tliose who 
pronounced it a salisfactc>ry likeness. 

The poems of Philip Freneau, if we may 
be allowed here to repeat an estimate of 
his powers from a sketch written some 
years ago, represent his times, the war of 
wit and verse no less than of sword and 
stratagem of the Revolution : and he su- 
peradds to this material ahumorous, home- 
ly simplicity, peculiarly his own, in which 
he paints the life of village rustics, with 
their local manners fresh about them ; of 
days when tavern <ielights were to be free- 
ly spoken of, before temjierance societies 
and Maine laws were thought of; when 
men went to prison at the summons of in- 
exorable creditors, and when Connecticut 
deacons rushed out of meeting to arrest 
and waylay the jiassing Sunday traveller. 
When these liumois of the day were ex- 
hausted, and the imi^ulses of patriotism 
were gratified in s^ng ; when he had paid 
his respects to Rivington and Hugh Gaiiie. 
he solaced himself with remoter themes ; 
in the version of an ode of Horace, a vis- 
ionary meditation on the antiquities of 
America or a sentimental effusion on the 
lives of Sapplio. These show the fine tact 
and delicate handling of Freneau, who de 
serves mud more consider;ition in this re- 
spect from critics than he has received. A 



writer from whom the fastidious Campbell 
in his best day thought it worth while to 
borrow an entire line, is worth looking in- 
to. It is from Freneau's Indian Burying 
Ground, the last image of that fine vision- 
ary stanza : 

" By midnight moons, o'er moistening dews, 

In vestments for the chase arrayed, 
The hunter still the deer pursues, 

The hunter and the deer — a shade." 
Campbell has given the line a rich set- 
ting in the lovelorn fantasy of O'Conor's 
Child : 

" Bright as the bow that spans he tstorm 

In Erin's yellow vesture clad, 
A son of light — a lovely form, 

He comes and makes her glad ; 
N( w on the grass green turf he sits, 
His tassell'd horn beside him laid, 
Now o'er the hills in chase he flits 
The hunter and (he deer a shade." 

There is also a line of Hir Walter Scott 
which has its prototype in Freneau. In 
the introduction to the third cants of 31ar- 
rrdon, in the apostrophe to the Duke of 
Brunswick, we read — 

"' Lamented chief! — not thine the power 
To save in that presumptuous hour, 
When Prussia hurried to the field, 
And snatched the spear but left the shield." 

In Freneau's poem on the heroes of Eu- 
taw, we have this stanza: 

" They saw tlieir injured country's woe; 
The flaming town, the wasted field; 
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe 
They took Ihe spear — but left the shield." 

An anecdote which the late Henry Bre- 
voort was accustomed to relate of his visit 
to Scott, affords assurance that the poet 
was really indebted to Freneau, and that 
he would not on a proper occasion, have 
hesitated to acknowledge the obligation. 
Mr. Brevoort was asked by Scott respect- 
ing the authorsliip of certain verses in the 
battle of Eutaw, which he had seen in a 
m;igazine, and had by heart, and which he 
knew were American. He was told that 
they were by Freneau, when he remarked 
" The poem is as fine a thing as there is 
of the kind in the language." Scott also 
piaised one oi the Indian poems. 

We might add to these instances that in 
1790 Freneau, in his poetical correspond- 
ence between Nanny, the Philadelphia 
Housekeeper, and Nabby her friend, in New 
York, upon the subject of the removal of 
Congress to the former city, hit upon some 
of the peculiar pleasantry of Moore's Epis- 
tles in verse, of the present century. 

"Freneau surprises us often by his neat- 
ness of execution and skill in versification. 



112 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



He handles a triple-rhymed stanza in the 
octosyllabic measure particularly well. His 
appreciation of nature is tender and sym- 
pathetic,— one of tlie pure spriniis which 
fed the more boisterous curr'^nt of his hu- 
mor when he came out nmong men, to deal 
with quackery, pretence and injustice. But 
wliat is. jierhaps, most worthy of notice in 
Freneau is his originality, the instinct with 
wliich his genius marked out a path for it- 
self, in those days when most writers were 
languidly leaning upon the old foreign 
school of Pope and Darwin. He was not 
afraid of home things and incidents. Deal- 
ing with facts, realites, and the lifeiround 
him, wherever he was. his writings have 
still an interest where the vague expres- 
sions of other poets are forgotten. It is 
not to be denied, however, that Freneau 
was sometimes careless. He thought and 
wrote with improvidence. His jests are 
sometimes misdirected ; and his verses are 
unequal in execution. Yet it is not too 
much lo predict, that, through the genu- 
ine nature of some of his productions and 
the historic incidents of others, all that he 
wrote will yet be called for and find favor 
in numerous editions" — Oychpediaqf Amer. 
Literature 

Thi 
twenty years ago 

filled, nn edition o^ his poems having been 
published in 1865. the only publication of 
any of his poems since 1815. 

FRENEAU'S FAMILY. 

Philip Freneau left a family of four 
daughters, all of whom were living in 1865. 
The mother of Gcjvernor Seymour 'f New 
York ( Mary, the daughter lof General Jon- 
athan Forman ) was a niece of Mrs. Philip 



the poet's father. Mrs. Freneau survived 
her husband many years, retaining in her 
latter days much of the most interesting 
memories of llie days of the Revokition. 

The remains of Mrs. Freneau repose, 
with those of her husband, in the family 
burial ground at Mount Pleasant, N. J. A 
monument to the poet's memory, within a 
few years has been erected on the spot. 

Freneau lived nearly to the completion 
of his eightieth year. He lost his life, De 
cember 18th, 1833, " by exposure and Ci)ld 
while going on foot in the night during a 
snow storm to his residence near Free- 
hold." 

The Monmouth Inquirer thus announced 
his death : 

" Mr. Freneau wa-s in the village and 
started, toward evening, to go home, about 
two miles. In attempting to go across he 
appears to have got lost and mired in a 
bog meadow, where his lifeless corpse was 
discovered yesterday morning. Captain 
Freneau was a staunch Whig in the time 
of the Revolution, a good soldier and a 
warm patriot. The productions of his pen 
animated his countrymen in the darkest 
days of '76 and the effusions of his muse 



cheered the desponding soldier as he 
prediction was ventured nearly I '"»gl\t the battles of freedom.'' 

It is in a measure ful- i ^ '^^ ^''H^ of the Monmouth journal 

says one writer, "will remain hreneaus 
highest distinct ion He was tlie popular 
poet of the Revolution." 

The following extract from a brief no- 
tice by Anna Maria Woodhull, of Freneau, 
is from the Monmouth Democrat of May 
29th, 1873 : 

'' He first saw the light in the city of 
New Yojk and was graduated at New Jer- 
sey College. For some time a resident of 



f^reneau, the wife of the poet.. Tiie Fre- j Monmouth, he was frequentlj' the guest of 
neaus, through the second marriage of the the late Col. Elias Conover, grandfatiier of 



poet's mothei', are connected with the 
Kearney family of New Jersey. Philip 
Freneau married at about the age of thir- 
ty Miss Eleanor F(^rman, daughter of 8am 
uel Forman, a wealthy citizen of New Jer- 
sey. General Jonathan Forman and De 



William H. Conover, Sr., of Freehold. At 
the time of his deatli he owned and occu- 
pied the house now belonging to Mr. John 
Buck situated about two miles below the 
town. He was a great attmirer ot Shakes- 
peare. I own an old copy, formerly in his 



nise Forman. who were much engaged in : possession (Theobolds, London, 1772.) vvhich 
military affairs in the State during the Rev- I prize highly ; also an autograph bold and 
olution, were iier brothers. David I'orman free, dated 1781." 

also in military life was her cousin. This In his volume of poems before referred 
lady, wlio shared her husband's talent for j to, jninted and published by himself at 
poetry, corresponding with liim, for several ; Mount Pleasant in tliis County, lie gives 
years before their marriage, in verse, was j vivid local descriptions of a Monmouth 
of marked character ahd intelligence. She i county printing office in the olden time, 



was devotedly attached to the Episcopal 
Church, which the family attended, having 
left the French Church in the lifetime of 



and of other local matters which deserve 
preservation in our local iiistory, and in 
another chajiter we jiurpose quoting them 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



113 



and also afew'otlier pieces as specimens 
of liis style and as giving his sentiments on 
[politics, temperance and religion and oili- 
er subjects. 

The most recent volume of his poems 
was published in 1865 by W. J. Middletun, 
New York, with an introductory memon- 
by Evert A. Duyckiiick, to which we are 
indebted for many of the facts in the fore- 
going outline of his life. Though this vol- 
ume only gives his poems relating to the 
Revolution yet the fine liRentss of the po- 
et prefixed make it a work which would be 
highly prized by many of our readers. 

in the collection of his poems published 
in 1809, we find the list ofsubscribers which 
he procured for it headed by the names of 
James Madison then President, and 'i'hom- 
as Jefferson ; and in Monmouth County we 
find the following subscribers, viz : Middle- 
lown : Jehu Patterson, Esq., Capt Hen- 
drick Hendrickson, James Mott, Esq., Col. 
Jarrntt Stillwell, (Japt. Isaac Van Dorn, 
Capt. Jenise Hendrickson, B. Gen. Rich- 
ard Poole. Middletown Point : Cornelius 
P. Vanderhoi)f, Esq., Dr. William Reynolds, 
Capt. John Hall. Near Middletown Point, 
.lolin Van Pelt, Merchant. Peter Johnson, 
William Walton. Ailentown, Richard 
Stout, Merchant, Freehold, John Quay, 
Esq., Mr. David Cook. Monmouth, Hon. 
James Co.x. 

OLD MONMOUTH DURING THE 
REVOLUTION 

Historians generally concede that no 
state among the old thirteen suffered dur- 
ing the war more than did New Jersey ; 
and it is generally admitted that no coun 
ty in our state .- uttered more than did old 
Monmouth. In addition to liie outrages 
to which the citizens were subjected fiom 
the regular British army, tliey were con- 
tinually harassed by depredations com- 
mitted by regularly organized bands of 
Refugees, and also by ilie still more law- 
less acts of a set of outcasts known as the 
Pine Woof's Robbers, who, though pre 
tending to be Tories, yet, if opportunity of- 
fered, robSed Tories as well ns vVhigs. 

'i'he Refugees, or Loyalists as they call- 
ed themselves, were generally native born 
Americans wlio sided with the British, 
regularly organized, with officers commis- 
sioned by the Board of Associated loyal- 
ists at New Vork, of which body th« Presi- 
dent was William Franklin, the last Tory 
governor of New Jersey, an illegitimate 
son of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. The Ref- 



ugees had a strongly foitified settlement 
at Sandy Hook, the lighthouse there de- 
fended with cannon and British vessels of 
war always lying in the vicinity. From 
this settlement or "Refugees' town," as it 
was sometimes called, these marauders 
would sally forth to plunder and murder 
in the a(ijoining county. To show the 
perils by which the citizens of old Mon- 
mouth were surrounded and the outrages 
to which they were subjected, we append 
some extracts chiefly from ancient papers, 
which thi)ugh plain and unvarnished yet 
will give a vivid idea of life and times in 
this county in the dark days of the Revo- 
tion. 

Refugee R-^ids in Old Monmouth. — Phom- 

iNENT Patriots Robbed, Captured and 

Murdered. 

"June 3d 1778. We are informed that 
on Wednesday morning last, a party of 
about seventy of the Greens from Sandy 
Hook, lanaed near Major Kearney's (near 
Kejport,) headed the Mill Creek, Middle- 
town Point, and marched to Mr. John 
Burrows, made him pris.)ner, burnt his 
mills and both his store houses — all valua- 
ble buildings, besides a great deal of his 
furniture. They also took prisoners, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Smock, Captain Christo- 
pher Liiile, Mr. Joseph Wall, Capain Jo- 
seph Cuvenhoven (Conover) and several 
other persons, and killed Messrs Pearce 
and Van Brock le and wounded anotiier 
man mortally. Having completed this 
ami several other barbarities they precip- 
itately returned the same morning to 
give an account of their abominable deeds 
to taeir bloody employers. A number of 
these gently, we barn, were formerly in- 
habitants of that neigliborhood." 

The '• Greei'S " above mentioned, it is 
said, were Re'ugee or Loyalist Jerseyman 
who joined the British. Their organiza- 
tion was sometimes called " the New Jer- 
sey Royal Volunteers" under command 
of General Cortlandt Skinner, of whom 
some farther particulars may be given 
hereafter. 

" Ajaril 26th, 1779. An e.xi)edition con- 
sisting of seven or sight -hundred men un- 
der Co!. Hyde went to Middletown, Red 
Bank, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury and oth- 
er places, robbing and burning as they 
went. They took Justice Covenhoven 
and others prisoners. Captain Burrows 
and Colonel Holmes assembled our mili- 
tia and killed three and wounded fifteen 
of the enemy. The enemy however sue- 



114 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ceeded in carrying off horses, cattle and 
other plunder." 

In the above extract the name of Jus- 
tice " Covenlioven ■' is mentioned. The 
names of difterent membeis of the Coven- 
hoven family are frequently met with in 
ancient papers and records among those 
who favored the patriot cause. Since that 
time the name has gradually changed 
from Covenhoven to Conovei'. 

In May, two or three weeks after the 
above atiair, some two or three hundrtd 
Tories landed at Middletown, on what 
was then termed a ''picarooning'' expe- 
dition. The term "picaroon" originally 
meanmg a plunderer or pirate, seems to 
have been used in that riay to convey 
about the same idea that '' raider " did in 
the late Rebellion. 

•' June 9th, 1779. A party of about fif- 
ty Refugees, landed in Monmouth and 
marched to Tinton Falls undiscovered, 
where they surprised and cairitd oft" Colo- 
nel Hendrickson, Colonel Wyckoff", Cap- 
tain Chadwick and Captain McKuight, 
with several jirivates of the militia, and 
drove off sheep and horned cattle. About 
thirty of our mililitt hastily collected, 
made some resistance but were repulsed 
with ihe lo?s of two men killed and ten 
wounded, the enemy's loss unknown. 

April 1st, 1780. About this time, the 
Tories made another raid to Tinton Falls, 
and took off seven prisoners. Another 
party took Mr. Bowne prisoner at Mid- 
dletown, who, but three days before, had 
been exchanged, and had just got home. 

About the last of April, the refugees at- 
tacked the house of John Holmes, U[)per 
Freehold, and robbed him of a large 
amount of continental money, a silver 
watch, gold ring, silver buckles, pistols, 
clothing, <fec. 

June 1st, 1780. The noted Colonel Tye, 
(a mulatto formerly a slave in Monmouth 
Co.) with his motley company of about 
twenty blacks and whites, carried off' pris- 
oners Capt. Barney Smock, antl Gilbert 
Van Mater, spiked an iron cannon and 
took four horses. Their rendezvous was 
a^ Sandy Hook 

Shortly after this Colonel Tye aided in 
the attack on Capt. Joshua Huddy, at hs 
house at Colts Neck. The particulars of 
this affair, we purpose publishing in a 
sketcli of Captain Huddy. Colonel Tye. (or 
Titus, fo.-merly a slave belonging to John 
Corlies,) though guilty of having a skin 
darker than our own, yet was generally ac- 
knowledged to be about the most honora- 



ble, brave, generous and determined of the 
refugee leaders. Like our forefathers, he 
fought for his liberty, which our ancestors 
unfortuiiately refuseil to give him. 

October 15, 1781. A party of refugees: 
from Sundy Hook landed at night, at 
Shrewsbury, and marched undiscovered to 
Coil's Neck, and took six pri.-oners. The 
alarm reached the Court House about four 
or five o'clock, P. M., and u number of in- 
habitants, among whom was Dr. Nathanitl 
Scudder, went in pursuit. They rode to 
! Black Point to ti't to recapture the six 
[ Americans, ar d while firing from the bank 
i Dr. Scudder was killed. Dr. Scudder was 
one of the most prominent, active and use- 
ful patriots of Monmouth, and bis death 
was a serious loss to the Americans. 

About the beginning of August, 1782, 
Richard VVilgus, an American, was shot be- 
low Allentown. while on guard to prevent 
contraband trade wiih the Britisii. 
I February 8lh, 1782. About forty refu- 
I gees under Lieut. Steelman, came via San- 
1 dy Hook to Pleasant Valley. They took 
! twenty horses and five sleiglis. which they 
j loaded with plunder ; they also took s'evei- 
j al jirisoners, viz: Hendrick Hendrickson 
and his two sons, Peter Covenhoven, or 
Conover as the name is now called, was 
' made prisoner onc« before in 1779, as be- 
fore related,) Garret Hendrickson, Samuel 
Bowne and son, anct Jamrs Denise. At 
i Garret Hendiickson's a young man named 
I WilliHiii Tliompsp/n. got up siyiy and went 
oft' and informed Ciipt. John Schenck, of 
I Col. Holmes' rfgiment, who collected all 
the men he could to pursue. They over- 
! took and attacked the refugees, and the 
; before mentioned William Thomi>?on was 
j killed and Mr. Cottrel wounded. They 
I however took twelve refugees prisoners, 
three of whom were wounded. But in re- 
turning, they unexpectedly fell in with a 
I party of sixteen men under Stevenson, and 
a sudden firing caused eight ot the priso- 
ners to escape. But Crip'. Scbenck ordered 
liis men to charge bayonet, and the tories 
surrendered. Chj)!. Schenck took nine 
teen horses and five sleighs, and took twen- 
ty-one prisoners. 

The first of the foregoing extracts, rela 
ting to a raid of the British in Middletown 
township, in J778, and landing near Ma- 
jor Kearneys, in the vicinity o: Keyport, is 
probably the affair referred to in a tradi- 
tion given in Howes collections, which we 
give below, as it explains why the Refu- 
gees floxl so precipitately. It will be no- 
ticed, however, that the tradition does not 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



115 



agree with extract quoted as to damage 
done ; but we have no doubt but that the 
statement copied from the ancient paper 
(Collins Gaxette) is correct, as it was writ- 
ten but a few days after the affair took 
place. 

" Theproximity of this part of Monmouth 
county to New York rendered it, in the 
war of the Revolution, peculiarly liable to 
the incursions of the British troops. Many 
of the inhabitants, although secretly favor- 
able to the American cause, were obliged 
to feign allegiance to the crown, or lose 
then' property by marauding parties of the 
refugees, fi'om vessels generally lying oti' 
Sandy Hook. Among those of this descrip- 
tion was Major Kearney, a resident near 
the present site of Keyport. On one occas- 
ion a party of thirty or f.^rty refugees 
stopped at his dwelling on their way to 
Middletown Point, where they intended 
to burn a dwelling and some mills. Kear- 
ney feigned uratification at their visit, and 
talsely informed them there were probably 
some rebel troops at the Point, in which 
case it would be dangerous for them to 
march thither. He ordered his negro ser- 
vant, Jube. thither to make inquiry, at the 
same time secrelly giving him the cue how 
to act. In due length of time Jube, who 
had gone but a short distance, returned 
and hastily entered the room where Kear- 
ney and the Refugees were, and exclaimed : 
" Oh Massa ! Massa ! the rebels are at the 
Point thicic as blackberries I They nave 
just come down from the Court house and 
say they are going to march down here 
to night. The ruse succeeded ; the Refu- 
gees, alarmed, precipitately retreated to 
their boats, leaving the Major to rejoice at 
the stratagem whicli had saved the proper- 
ty of his friends from destruction." 

The i)robabiiity is that therusre prevent 
ed the Refugees from doing as much dam- 
age as they had intended, although they 
remained long enougli to inflict, considera- 
ble injury, as has been related. 

ATTACK ON THE RUSSEL FAMILY. 

As the outrage was an unusually aggra- 
vated one, even for Refugees, and as it 
will be necessary to refer to some of the 
parties concerned in it hereafter, to ex- 
plain other events, we give the particulars 
as deiived from various sources. The first 
extract is from Collin's New Jersey Ga- 
zette : — 

"On the 30th of April, 1780, a party of 
negroes and refugees from Sandy Hook 
landed at Shrevvsburj', in order to plun- 



der. During their excursion a Mr. Rus- 
sell, who attempted some resistance to 
their depreciations, was killed, and his 
grandchild had five balls shot through 
him, but is yet living. Captain Warner, of 
the i^rivateer brig Elizabeth, was made 
prisoner by these ruffians, but was releas- 
ed by giving them two half joes. This 
banditti also took ofi' several persons, 
among whom were Capt. James Green 
and Ensign John Morris, of the Militia." 

The annexed additional particulars are 
from Hove's collections — " Mr. Russell 
was an elderly man, aged about 60 years ; 
as the party entered his dwelling, which 
was in the night, he fired and missed. — 
William Gilian, a native of Shrewsbury, 
their leader, seized the old gentleman by 
tiie collar, and w-as in the act of stabbing 
him in the face and eyes with a bayonet, 
when the fire blazed up, and shedding a 
momentary light upon the scene, enabled 
the younger ffussell, who lay wounded on 
the floor, to shoot Gilian. John Farnham, 
(A Refugee named Farnham was after- 
wards captured, tried and hung at Free- 
hold — we presume it was the same man,) 
a native of Middletown, thereupon aimed 
his musket at the young man, but it was 
knocked up by Lipi)incott, who had mar- 
ried into the family. The party then went 
off. The child was accidentally wounded 
in the affray." 

The Lippencott above referred to vvas, 
during the late years of the war, quite a 
noted refugee leader — the same Captain 
Richard Lippencott who executed Cap- 
tain Joshua Huddy. (A New York pub- 
lication entitled " Tales and traditions of 
New York, says that Capt. Lippencott was 
among the Refugees who attacked and 
burned Toms River.) It will be noticed 
that a younger Russell is referred to as 
having been vvounded and lying on the 
floor. This was Joim Russell, a very ac- 
tive member of the Militia, who at the 
time of this outrage was at home on a fur- 
lough with his parents and wife. This 
John Russell alter the war removed to Ce- 
dar Creek, in Ocean County, where he 
lived to quite an advanced age. His ac- 
count of the affair is as follows : 

There were seven refugees and he 
(John) saw them through the window, 
and at one time they got so near that he 
told his father he was sure they could kill 
four of them and wished to fire, as be be- 
lieved the other three would run. His 
father persuaded him not to fire, but to 
do so when they broke into the house. — 



116 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



When they broke in the father fired first 
but missed his aim ; he was then fi-ed up- 
on and killed. John Russell fired and 
killed the man who shot his father. John 
Russell was shot in the side (the scars of 
the wound were visible until he died ) — 
After being wounded he fell on the floor 
and pretended that he was dead. The 
refugees then went to plundering the 
house. The mother and wife of John 
were lying in a bed with the child : the 
child awoke and asked: ''Grandmother 
wnat's the matter?" A refugee pointed 
his gun at it and fired and said " that's 
what's the matter." Whether he really 
intended to wound the child, or only to 
frighten it, is uncertain, but the child was, 
as before stated, badly wounded, but event 
ually recoveiad. 

As the refugees were preparing to leave, 
one of the number pointed his musket at 
young Russell, as he lay on the floor, and 
was about firing, saying he didn't believe 
he was dead yet; whereupon another 
knocked his musket up, saying it was a 
shame to fire upon a dying man, and the 
load went into the ceiling. After the ref- 
ugees were gone, John got up, had his 
wounds attended to, and exclaimed to his 
wife : " Ducky I I'll come out all right 
yet." He did come out all right, and we 
have good reason to believe before the 
wai» ended he aided in visiting severe ret- 
ribution on the Refugees, for their doings 
at this lime. Among this party of Refu- 
gees was the notorious Phil White. 

THE CAPTURE AND DEATH OF THE REFUGEE, 
FHIL WHITE. 

A correct version of the A^air. Slanders re- 
futed and Patriots Vindicated. Affidavits of 

Aaron White, of Philip Whitens guards; 

Statements of Gen. Forman, &c. 

Though the death of the refugee Philip 
W.hite, (commonly called Phil White) is 
occasionally referred to in modern works, 
there are none which give complete or 
correct accounts of the affair. In the 
brief statement given in Howe's collec- 
tions, unjust imputations are cast ujion his 
guard, as will hereafter be seen. 

When Capt. Muddy was so brutally mur- 
dered by the Refugees near the High- 
land?, it will be remembered that a label 
was fastened to his breast, the last sen- 
tence of which was 

" Up goes Htuldy for Philp White.'" 

Though the refugees at one time assert 
ed that Capt. Huddy had an agency in 
the death of Phil. White, yet this prejws- 



terous charge was at once shown to be an 
infamous falsehood, as when White was 
killed, Capt. Huddy wns a prisoner, con- 
fined in the old sugar house. New York, 
(Duane's sugar house). The British assert- 
ed that " he had taken a certain Philip 
White, cut off both his arms, broke his 
legs, pulled out one of his eyes, damned 
him and then hid him run." How much 
of this was true wdl be seen by conclu- 
sive evidence given below, before quoting, 
which we will give a version of the affair 
as given in Howe's collection, from a tra- 
ditionary .source. 

. " While, the Refugee, was a carpenter, 
and served his time in Shrewsbury. Six 
days after Huddy was taken, he was sur- 
prised by a party of militia ligiithorse, 
near Snag Swamp, in the eastern part of 
the township. After laying down his arms 
in token of surrender, he took up his mus- 
ket and killed a Mr. Hendrickson. He 
was however secured, and while being tak- 
en to Freehold, was killed at Pyle's Cor- 
ner, three miles from there. He Wis un- 
der a guard ot three men, the father of 
whom was murdered at Shrewsbury the 
year ^Ji'evious, by a band of reufugees, 
amon^ whom was White, and he was 
therefore highly exasperated against the 
prisoner. Some accounts state that he 
was killed while attempting to escape: 
others with more probability that they 
pricked him with their swords and thus 
to run and cruelly murdered. 

There are several errors in the forego- 
ing and it is to be especially regretted 
that the untrue chargeof wanton cruelty, 
contained at the close of this extract, 
.-hould have found a place in so useful a 
book as the one containing it. Correct 
versions of this affair are found in ancient 
papers, but for the present we will give 
several affidavits talcen at the time as be- 
ing the most conclusive evidence. These 
affidavits were forvvarded to Gen. Wash- 
ington, and by him transmitted to Con- 
gress, April 20Lh, 1782. 

These affidavits are of Aaron White, 
who was taken prisoner with Phil. White, 
and of each of the three guards. 

Deposition of Aaron White. 

County of Monmouth, ss : — Aaron White 
being duly sworn, deposeth : 

That he was taken pri-soner with Philip 
White, that the deponent left New York 
in company with Philip White, Jeremiah 
Bell, negro Moses, Jolin Feanimore and 
Robert Howell, on Thursday night, the 



OLD TIMES m OLD MOIXMOUTIJ, 



117 



28th day of March last ; that they sailed 
from New York to the Hook, where they 
remained until morning, beinjj Friday ; 
that the deponent understood that Capt. 
Huddy was then a prisoner ; that on the 
day following, being Saturday, the 30th, 
the deponent being off in a boat with Fen- 
nimore, and having observed that the said 
Philip White and Moses had an engage- 
ment with some of tlie troops on shore, 
he, the deponent, went in a boat to their 
relief, meaning to take them off; that 
when he came on shore he joined the said 
Philip White and negro Moses, and pur- 
sued one Thomas Berkley, with whom 
they had been engaged ; that in pursuit, 
the light horse came down, and the depo- 
nent with the said Philip White were 
made prisoners, that they were put under 
guard to be sent to Freehold for confine- 
ment ; that on the way from Colt's Neck 
to Freehold, between Daniel Grandin's 
and Samuel Leonard's the deponent was 
told by one of his guards that Philip 
White was running away ; that the depo- 
nent looked back and saw the horsemen 
in pursuit of something, but being about 
half a mile distant, could not distinguish 
alter whom or what the pursuit was; that 
the field in which they were pursuing was 
near the brook next to Mr. Leonard's ad- 
joining a wood ; that Lieut. Rhea and 
George Brindley left the deponent under 
guard of two men and ran their horses 
back towards the place the other men 
were pursuing ; that the deponent after- 
wards understood that it is was Philip 
White they were pursuing, and that he 
was killed in the pursuit ; that Joshua 
Huddy was not one ot the guard or party, 
and the deponent understood and verily 
believes that he was then a prisoner in 
New York; and the deponent further and 
lastly declares, that the above is the truth 
as related without any fear, threats or 
compulsion whatever. 

Aaron White. 
Sworn before me this 15th of April, 1782- 
David Forman, 
Justice of the Peace, Monmouth County. 

That a clear idea of the order of the 
principal events referred to in these affi- 
davits may be obtained, we will here state 
that Capt. Joshua Huddy was taken pris- 
oner by the British at Toms River, on 
Sunday, March 24th, 1782 ; on Saturday, 
the 30th of March, six days after, Phil. 
White and Aaron, were taken prisoners 
by the Monmouth militia the same day 



(March 30th,) Philip White was killed, at 
which time Capt. Huddy was confined in 
the sugar house prison at New York, 
where he had been put on Tuesday, March 
27ih, and remained until Monday, April 
Hth, when he was taken on board a sloop 
and put in irons, and four days later — on 
the 12th of April, 1782 — he was hung near 
the Highlands; his body was delivered to 
the Americans, sent to Freehold, and 
buried with the honors of war. Three 
days after his death — on the 15th of April, 
these affidavits were taken, while the re- 
collections of all the circumstances refer- 
redto were fresh in the minds of the wit- 
ness. 



ORIGIN OF FAMILY NAMES. 



A surname is an additional name added 
to a proper or given name for the sake of 
distinction, and so called because original 
ly written over the other name instead of 
after it, from the French /S'«rno?rt, probably 
derived from the Latin '' Super nomen," 
signifying above the name. 

Surnames have originated in various 
ways. Some are derived from the names 
of places; others from offices and profes- 
sions, from personal peculiarities ; from 
the (christian or proper name of the fath- 
er; from the performance of certain ac- 
tions; from objects in the animal, mineral 
and vegetable world, and from accidental 
circumstances of every varied character. 

According to Camden, surnames began 
to be taken up in France about the year 
1000, and in England about the time of 
the Conquest (1066) or a very little be- 
fore. 

Local names form the largest cla&s of 
our surnames. First among these are 
those which are national, expressing the 
country whence the person first bearing 
(he name came, as English, Scott, French, 
Ireland, Britain, Fleming (from Flanders) 
Gaskin, (from Gascony), &c. Names were 
taken from almost every county, town 
and hamlet, as Cheshire, Chester, Hull, 
Ross, Kent, Cunningham, Huntingdon, 
Preston, Compton, etc., so that local names 
of this class may number many thousands. 
For instance, a person whose native place 
was Chester, might remove to another 
place the inhabitants of which, to distin- 
guish him, would give him the surname of 
Chester, originally prefixing it with " o/," 
frequently shortened to " O " or '' .4," sig- 
nifying/>-#?n or at, as John of Chester, John 
0' Chester ; J ohn atKirby, John A'Kirby. 



118 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



The prefixes after a time were dropped 
and the names descended to children as 
simply Chester and Kirby. 

Besides these we have a great number of 
locid surnames which are general and de- 
scriptive of the nature or situation of the 
residence of the persons upon whom they 
were bestowed, as Hill, Wood. Dale, Park, 
<fec. The prefix xU or AUe was generally 
used before these names as Joh}^ At Hill, 
meaning John at the hill or John who 
lived at the hill; James At Well, John At 
Wood, now Atwell and Atwood. In this 
way men took surnames from rivers and 
trees from residing at or near them, as 
Beck, Gill, Grant, Beach, Bush. Ash, 
Thorn. 

Surnames derived from Christian or bap- 
tismal names are probably next in num 
ber to the local surnames; some of these 
are probably the most ancient of all sur- 
names, many of them varied by prefixes 
and suflSxes. Of this class we have first, 
the names terminating in son, which vi\s 
added to the name of the father ; John the 
son of William, was called John, William's 
son — John Williamson ; Johnson, John's 
son ; T}»ompson, Thomas' son ; tSimpson, Si- 
mon's son; Wilson, Will's son. 

The Welsh merely appended "5," in 
stead of son, as Edwards, son of Edward ; 
Davis, son of David ; Jones, son of John ; 
Hughes, son of Hugh ; Williams, son of Wil 
liam, &c. 

Then we have surnames formed from ab- 
breviated names, pet names and nick- 
names, as Watson the son of Wat or Wal- 
ter : Watts, signifying the same; Dobson, 
son of Dob or Robert. 

A great many surnames are formed of 
abbreviated and nurs'=i ngmes with the ad 
dition of the diminutive terminations ette, 
kin, cock or cox. all of which signify " lit- 
tle" or "child." From the termination 
ette we have such names as Willet, wliich 
meani. little Will, or son of Will ; IJallct.. 
Little Hal or Henry. P^rom kin or kin^s 
we have Wilkins, Sirapkins, Atkins, Hig- 
gins, Hawkins, Dobbins. From cock ov cox 
we have Wilcox, Simeox, &c.. 

Some surnnines have the prefix Fi'z, of 
Norman wigin, signifying son. as Fiiz Clar- 
ence, son of Clarence, Fitzgerald, son of Ger- 
ald. Fitz was applied to sons both legiti- 
mate and illegitimate. 

The Welsh in like manner prefixed Ap 
to denote son, as Jhwid ^\p Hoiuell, David 
son of Howeli; Evan A]> lihi/s, Evan son of 
Rhys or Reese ; liichnrd Ap Evan, Richard 
son of Evan ; John Ap Hugh, John son of 



Hugh. These names are now abbreviated 
into Powell, Price, Bevan, Pugh. 

The affix " Ing " is of Teutonic origin, 
denoting progeny ; Whiting inei\.ns, fair off- 
spring ; Browning, the dark or brown cnild, 
etc. Xe^ of Anglo Saxon origin means lit- 
tle, as Burtlett, little Bart or Bartholomew ; 
Willctt, little Will. 

The prefixes " Mac " and " " found in 
Irish names signify the first, son, the lat- 
ter grandson or descendant. DonneiTs 
son would be called Mac Donnell; the 
grandson or descendant would be called 
O'Donnell; Mac iNeall, the son of Neal ; 
O'Neal, the grandson of Neal. 

Names of trades, occupations and pur- 

j suits are next in number, as Smith. Car- 
))enter, Taylor, Barker, Barber, Brewer, 
Sherman (a shearman, one who shears 

■ cloth), Naylor (nailmaker). Tucker (a ful. 

I ler), etc. John the Smith was shortened 

I to John Smith, Peter the Carjienter, to 
Peter Carpenter, &c. 

j Many surnames are derived from offi- 
cial names, both civil and ecclesiasti- 
cal. Among these may be mentioned 
King, Earl, Knight. Pope, Bishop, Bailey. 
Marshall, Cliambcrlain, Priest, etc. 

Personal characteristics have given ori- 
gin to another class of surnames descrip- 
tive of mental or bodily peculiarities. — 
Among these are the names of color and 
complexion, as Black, Brown, White, 
Gray, Dunn (brown); and from the color 
of the hair. Whitehead, Fairfax (fair 
hair), Swartz (bJack), P'airchild, Black- 
man, etc. 

Among those which indicate the men 
tal or moral qualities are such as Good- 
man, Wise, Wiley, Meek, Moody, Bliss, 
Gay, Sage, Joy. 

Among those derived from bodily pecu- 
liarity and from feats of personal strength 
or courege are Strong, Mickle, liittle. 
Long, Armstrong, Turnbuli, etc. 

A few surnames aie derived from ani- 
mals, fishes and birds, generally for the 
reason given hereafter. 

Of surnames derived from animals may 
be mentioned Wolf, Lion, Fox, Hare, 
RoC; &c. I-i'rom Wild boar comes Wilbur: 
from Little Wolf or lAipellas comes Lovel : 
Todd means fix in Scotch ; and from EOer 
or Eafcr, a boar, is derived Everard, Ever- 
itt, Everingham. P^verton, &ic. Oliphant is 
from elephant. 

Among the names of fishes and birds 
taken as family names may be mentioned, 
Pike. Salmon, Burt, Ba.ss. Fish, etc ; l>ove. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



119 



Finch, Peacock, Swan, Jay, Wildgoose 
(Wilgus), Heron, Sic. 

The mineral and vegetable kingdom 
have contributed their full quota, as in- 
stance Garnett, Jewell, Steel, Irons, Stone, 
Flint, Pine, Rose, Thorn, Burch,etc. 

One reason why persons received as sur- 
names the names of animals, fishes, birds, 
flowers, &G, was because in ancient times 
in England, not only innkeepers but 
tradesmen and mechanics of all kinds put 
on the signs over their doors a representa- 
tion of something to attract attention and 
as a distinguishing mark of their [ilaoe of 
business, as Wild hoars, Elephants, Bulls, 
Swans, Peacocks, Dolphins, Cranes, Grif- 
fins, Guns, Bells, Pots, Pitcaers, &c., which 
gave rise to the surnames of those who 
put them up or to some of their employes. 
Camden says " that he was told by them 
who said they spake of knowledge, that 
many names that seem unfitting for men, 
as of brutish beasts, etc., came from the 
very signs of the houses where they inliab- 
ited. That some, in late time, dwelling 
at the sign of the Dolphin, Bull, White- 
horse, Racket, Peacocke, etc., were com- 
monly called Thnnas at the Dolphin, Will at 
the Bull, George at the Whilehorse, Rohin at 
the Racket, which names, as many others 
of the like sort, with omitting at, became 
afterward hereditary to their children." 

A few surnames have originated in nick- 
names, epithets of contempt and ridicule, 
imposed for personal peculiarities, habits, 
qualities, incidents or accidents which hap- 
pened to their original bearers, as Doolit- 
lle, Bragg, Trollope, Silliman, &c. 

The foregoing gives the princijDal sour- 
ces from which the greater part of our 
surnames are derived, but many names 
yet remain, the origin of which are not ac- 
counted for, hut all surnames must have been 
originally significant. The best authorities 
as to the origin and meaning of surnames 
are Lover, Camden and Arthur, the work 
of the last named being the most conven 
lent and accessible. 

We give bel ];v the meaning and origin 
of many familxar surnames as accepted by 
some authorities. In a few instances 
there is a difference of opinion among 
those who have investigated the subject. 
At some future time we shall endeavor to 
find room for a more complete list of sur- 
names and quote different authorities — 
In some cases where different opinions 
are given as to the origin of surnames 
each may be correct owing to the fact 



that many names now common may have 
had different origins. 



SURNAMES- THEIR ORIGIN AND 
MEANING. 



Acheson, Atcheson. (Cornish British). 
An inscription or memorial. 

Ackerman. (Saxon). From Acker, oak- 
en, made of oak, and man. Signifying 
the brave, firm, unyielding man. 

Acton. (Saxon). Oak-town or oak hill, 

Agnew. (Norman French). From the 
town of Agneau, in Normandy, whence the 
family originated. Agneau, in Normandy 
French signifies lambs. 

Ackers, Aikens, Akers, Akms &c. (Sax- 
on). Qx^ni^y oaken ov place o^ oaks, ov oak 
man, a man firm and unyielding as an 
oak. 

Allen, Allan. This name is derived, by 
one authority from the Sclavonic Aland, a 
woltdog or hound. Camden thinks it is a 
corruption of Aelimus, which signifies sun- 
bright. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies ex- 
ceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely. 
Irish, Alun, fair beautiful. The Gaelic and 
Irish derivations are probably correct. 

Anderson. Son of Andrew. 

Armstrong. A name given for strength 
in battle. 

Austin. (Latin) A contraction of Augus- 
tine, from Augustinus, imperial, royal, 
great, renowned. 

Bailey. A name of office. 

Barculo, Barkalow. From the town 
Boiculoor Borkulo in Holland. 

Barnes. A distinguished family of Sot- 
terly, Suffolk county, England. Beam, a 
city in France. Barnyz, (Cornish Br.) a 
judge. 

diminutive of Bartholo- 
ittle Bart, or son of Bar- 



Bartlett. A 



mew, meanmg 
tholomew. 

Barton. (Saxon). Local. From a town in 
Lincolnshire, England, meaning a corn 
town or barley village, from here, barley, 
and tonixu inclosure, house or village. In 
Devonshire Barton is applied to any free- 
hold estate not possessed of manorial 
privileges. 

Bates. (Anglo Saxon) Contention. 

Bauer. (German). Farmer. 

Baxter. (Anglo Saxon). Baker. Sir 
Walter Scott says that in Scotland it also 
meant a baker's lad. 

Beadle. A name of office; an officer be- 
longing to a university or parish. 

Bedell. The same as Beadla, of which 
it is a corruption. 



120 



OLD TIMES ^IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Beers. From Beer, a town in Dorsetshire, 
England, so called from here, grain, bar- 
ley; a fruitful place. 

Bell. A name taken from the sign of an 
inn or shop. " John at the Bell " became 
"John Bell." 

Bennett. A contraction or corruption 
of Benedict, from Benedictus, blessed. 

Blair. A cleared plain or battle field. 

Blake. A corruption of Ap Lake, son of 
Lake. 

Bogart (Dutch) From boomgard, an or- 
chard. 

Bond. The father or head of a family, 
whence husband, a contraction of house 
bond. 

Bonnal. (Cornish British). The house 
on the cliff. (See Burnell). 

Bowen. (Welsh). A corruption of Ap 
Oiven, son of Owen. 

Bovvne. (Cornish Br.) Signifies ready, 
active, nimble. 

Bowman. A military name ; one who 
used a bow; an archer. 

Bowers. A shady recess ; a cottage. The 
German Bauer is sometimes corrupted to 
Bower. 

Bowyer. One who used or made bows. 

Bradshaw. A broad wood or grove. One 
who lived near a wide grove. 

Breese. (Welsh). A contraction of Ap 
JRecse, son of Ree?e. 

Brewer, Brewster. A brewer of malt li- 
quor. 

Brick. A corruption of Breek, signify- 
ing broken, a gap. 

Britton, Brittain. A native of Britain. 

Brower. From the Dutch Brouer, a 
brewer. 

Bryan, Brian Brien. Nobly descended ; 
also one who is fair spoken, wordy, spe- 
cious. 

Bunnell. A corruption of Bonhill, a par- 
ish in the county of Dumbarton, Scot- 
land. 

Burden, Borden. Louver says the sur- 
name Burden is probably a corruption of 
bourdov., a pilgrim's staff. It may also be de- 
rived from two Saxon words Bo^(r and den 
signifying a house in the valley. 

Chadwich. Cottage by the harbor. 

Clayton. The Clay hill. 

Cole. An abbreviation of Nicholas, 
common among the Dutch. 

Connell, Connelly. From Celtic and 
Gaelic, co?(a/, love, friendship. 

Conway. From a river of this name in 
Wales. 

Coombs. (Cornish Br.) A place betvreen i 
hills, a valley ; in the Welsh Coom. I 



Courtney. From a town in France, 
Courtenay fifty-six miles south of Paris. — 
The name signifies '' The court near the 
river."' 

Cox. From cock or cox, little, a term of 
endearment. The word was sometimes 
used to denote a leader or chief man. In 
West Jersey, some two centuries ago, Pe- 
ter, Lacey, and Laurence Cock were prom- 
inent settlers ; their descendants general- 
ly now spell the name Cox. 

Crawforl. From Crawford in Lancashire, 
Scotland, which some say derived its name 
from cru bloody and ford, a pass — bloody 
ford. 

Crowell. From a town in England by 
that name. 

Curtis. An abbreviation of courteous. 

Dennis. A corruption of the Greek name 
Dionysius, divine mind. 

Dunn. Gaelic, a heap, hill, mount, fort- 
ress. Saxon, brown, of a dark color, swar- 
thy. 

Dunning. Brown offspring, Child of 
Dunn. 

ErricV, Herrick. '' There is a tradition " 
says Dean Swift *' that the ancient family 
of Ericks or Herricks derive their lineage 
from Erick the Forester, a great command- 
er who rai'^ed an army to oppose the inva- 
sion of William the Conquerer." 

Errickson. Son of Eric. The old settlers 
of Monmouth of this name were probably 
of Swedish descent and first settled in 
West Jersey. Eric Errickson came over 
with the first Swedish settlers (1638?) A 
census of Swedes taken in 1693 gives the 
names of Joran Ericson, one child, Mats 
Errickson, three children, Eric Errickson, 
one child. An old tradition says that the 
first of the family who came to New Jer- 
sey, descended from Eric, king of Sweden. 

Ervvin, Irwin. Welsh Erivyn, very fair, 
white beautiful. 

Elvans. The Welsh for John, same as 
Johns, meaning son of Evan or son of 
John. 

French. One who came from France. 

Goudy, Gowdy. From Gouda, ■i. town in 
Holland. 

Gordon. A strong man, a hero, a giant. 

Harris, Harrison. .Son of Henry. 

Hartshorne. The horn ot a hart or male 
deer ; an emblem or sign over a shop or 
inn, wlience the name "Will at the Harts- 
horn." 

Havens. From haven, a harbor. One 
who lived near a haven. 

Henderson, Hendrickson. Son of Hen- 
ry or Hendrick. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



121 



Herbert. (Saxon) From Here., a sol- 
dier, and beorht, bright — meaning an ex- 
pert soldier, famous in war. 

Higgins. Little Hugh, or son of Hugh. 

Hilyard. Anciently Hildheard, Hild in 
Saxon is a hero or heroine, and heard, a 
pastor or keeper. 

Hodges. Hodge was a nickname of Rog- 
er, and Hodges mean son of Hodge. 

Hoffman. (Dutch) From Hoof Jam, a 
captain or head man, Hofman, from Hof, a 
court — the man of the court. 

Holman. A corruption of Allemand, a 
German, that is a mixture of all men, AUe 
mann. 

Holmes. From Holm, a river, island or 
meadow; also cultivated rising ground. 

Hume, Hulmes. Same as above. 

Hood. (Saxon) I'rom hovd', the wood. 

Hooper. A cooper. 

Hopkins. Little Robert or son of Rob- 
ert. 

Hunn. A native of Hungary. 

Irving, Irvine. From a river and town 
of same name in Ayrshire, Scotland. 

Jeffrey. Corrupted from Geoffrey or 
Godfrey, from theGerman, signifying God's 
peace orjoyful peace. This name was borne 
by the chief of the royal house of Plantag 
enet. 

.Jenkins. From Jenks or John ; son of 
John. 

Jennings. Same as Jenkins, 

Kemble, Kimlile. A corruption of Camp 
bell, which family claims to be able to trace 
its lineage to the fifth century. Cam meant 
crooked, and bevl, mouth — the man whose 
mouth inclined a little on one side. 

Laird. The same as Lord. 

Lane. (Gaelic) A plain ; a narrow way. 

Lawrence. Flourishing, spreading, from 
Laurus, the laurel tree. Sir Robert Lau: 
rence of Ashton Hall, Lancashire, England, 
accompanied Richard I. to the Holy Land 
119L 

Leonard. The disposition of a lion. Li- 
on hearted. 

Lippencot. German. A town on the 
coast; one who lived on the coast — from 
leben to dwell, and ccte side or coast. 

Lloyd. (Welsh) Grey or brown. 

Lowe. A hill. 

Martin. Warlike, a chief man, a warrior. 

Moore. (Gaelic) Great, chief, tall, mighty, 
proud. 

Morgan. One born by the sea. 

Morris. (Welsh) A hero, a brave man. 

Norris. A North king ; the third king 
at arms. 



Osborn. From hus, a house, and beam, 
a child — a family child or adopted child. 

Owen. The ^ood offspring, good child. 

Palmer. A pilgrim from the Holy Land; 
so called because he carried a palm branch 
as a pledge of his having been to Palffstine. 

Pancoast, Pancost. A corruption of Pt:rt- 
Lecost, a name probably given to a child 
born on Pentecost day. 

Pangburn, Pangbourn. A town in Berk- 
shire, England. 

Parker. The keeper of a park. 

Powell. The son of Howell, which is from 
Cornish British Houl, the sun. 

Potter. One who makes earthen vessels. 

Price. The son of Rice or Reese, from 
Ap Ilice. 

Quackerboss. A thicket, a grove, moun- 
tain ash. 

Randolph, Randall. Fair help. Good 
help. 

Reeves. From liccve, a bailiff", provost, or 
steward. 

Reynolds. Sincere or pure love ; a strong, 
firm hold. 

Rice, Reese. A brave, impetuous man. 

Roger. One who keeps the peace ; strong 
counsel. 

Rogers. Son of Roger. 

Russell. Red haired, or somewhat red- 
dish. 

Schenck, An inn or public house, from 
the German schenhe. 

Sherman. One who shears cloth. 

Smith. The most common of all sur- 
names. The name is derived from the An- 
glo Saxon Smilan, to strike or smite. 
"From wlienee comes Smith, all be he knigVit or 

squire, 
But from the Smith thut fo'i geth a*, the fire?" 

Verstegan. 

Among the Highland class, the smith 
ranked third in dignity to the chief, from 
his skill in fabricating military weapons 
and his dexterity in using them. In Wales 
there were three sciences which a tenant 
could not teach his son without consent of 
his lord. Scholarship, Bardism and Smithcraft. 
This last was considered one of the liberal 
sciences, and the term hi.d a more com- 
prehensive sense than we now give it. The 
smith was required to have different 
branches of knowledge which are now prac- 
ticed separately, such as raising the ore, 
converting it into metal, etc. It originally 
applied to all mechanical workmen wheth- 
er in metal, wood or other materials. 

The name John ^Smith is s > common 
that it almost ceases to be a distinctive 
name. One writer contends, in an amus- 



122 



OLI) TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ing article, that the name Smith is not 
only common in Great Britain and Ameri- 
ca, hut among all the nations of the earth. 
He insists that the Hehrew name ot'Sheni 
(Noah's son) was thus corrupted: Shem, 
.■Shemit, Shmit, Smith. A Philadelphia 
humorous writer, after asserting that Shem 
in Hebrew is the origin of vSmith, says the 
name John Smith is found in other nations 
one and indivisible Thus, Latin, Johannes 
Stnithius ; Italian, Giovanni Smithi ; Span- 
ish, Juan Smithas ; Dutch, Hans Schmidt; 
French, Jean Smeets ; Russian, Jonloff 
Skmittowski ; Polish, Ivan Schmittiwcls.ii ; 
Cliinese, Jahon Shimmitt ; Icelandis, Jahne 
Smilhson ; Welsh, Jihon Schmidd ; Tus- 
carora. Ton Qu Smittiu ; Mexican, Jontli 
F. Smitti. 

Snyder. (German) Schneider, a tailor. 

Stanton. From s/an a stone and (on, a 
hill or town. 

Stewart. Malcolm III, king of Scotland, 
created Walter, ihe son ot Fleance and 
grandson of Banquo, Lord High Steward 
of Scotland, from which office his family 
afterwards took, and retained the name of 
Stewart, and from ihence descended the 
royal family of Stuart. 

Stockton. A town in Durham, England. 

Stokes. A parish in Buckinghamshire, 
England. 

Stryker. (Danish.) From .?^r/(/i', to strike, 
to roam, to travel ; hence a worker at a 
trade, a traveller. 

Sutphen. (Dutch.) Originally Van 
Zutphen, that is, from the city of Zutphen 
in Germany. 

Taggart. (Welsh.) A meeting house. 

Tunison. Probably son of Tennis or 
Tunis. 

Throckmorton. A corruption of .1^ Rock- 
moor-toii-n, " a town on a rock in a moor,"' 
in the vale of Eversham, Warwickshire, 
England. 

Thwaite. A piece of ground cleared of 
VTOod. 

Tice. (Dutch.) A familiar abbreviation 
of Matihi.as. 

Tilton. Derived from Tilton, a village 
in England, probably an ancient [)lace of 
tilling or tents. TU(, Saxon, a tent. 

Todd. 7W, a Scotch word for fox. 

Townsend. One who lived at the end of 
tlie town. 

Truax. (Cornish Br. ) 'i'he place on the 
waters. 

Van Cleve. From the city of ('leve or 
Cleves in Westphalia, Germany. 

Vanderreer. From the ferry. 



Voorhees. (Dutch.) From voorhius the 
fore room or best room of a house, or from 
vflor Hess, b«fore the town of Hess. 

Walton The name of several villages 
in England, from ■wahl, a wood, and ii^n a 
town or village. 

Watson ami Watts. Son of Walter. 

Worden, Werden. From Wchr, a forti- 
fication and dm, a hill ; a town in Nether- 
lands called Woerdon. 

Westervelt. The west field. 

Woodruff. The governor or keeper of 
a wood, a forester. 

Woodward. Wood-ward, a forest keeper 
or officer who hud charge of a park or for- 
est, and took charge of all offences eom- 
naitted. 

Woolley. From Wohlley, uncultivated 
lands, hills without woods. 

Worth. (Saxon.) A court, farm, place. 



THE DEATH OF BAC(JN. 

'•John Bacon was a notorious refugee 
who had committed many depredations 
along the shores of Monmouth and Bur- 
lington counties. After having been a tei- 
ror to tlie people of this section for some 
lime, John '^tevvart, of Arnevtown, (after- 
wards Ciiptain Stewart), resolved if possi- 
ble to take him. There had been a rewa.rd 
of fifty pounds sterling offered by the (Jov- 
ernor and Council for his capture, dead or 
alive. A short time previous, in an engage- 
ment at Cedar Creek Biidge, Bacon and Ins 
company liad discomfited a considerable 
body of State troops, killing a brother of 
Joel Cook, of (book's Mills, (now Cooks- 
town), Burlington county, which excited 
much alarm amt exasperated the whole 
country. On the occasion of his arrest, Cap- 
tain Stewart took with him Joel Cook, John 
Brown, Thomas Smith, John Jones, and 
another person whose name is not recol- 
lected, and started in pursuit, well armed. 
They traversed the shore and found Bacon 
separated from his men at the public house 
or cabin of William Rose, between West 
Creek and C'lamtown (nov/ Tuckerton), in 
Burlington County, 'i'he night was very 
dark, and Smith being in advance ol the 
party, approached the house, and discov- 
ered through the window a man sitting 
with a gun between his knees. He imme- 
diately informed his companions. On ar- 
riving at the house. Captain Stewart 
opened the door and presenting his mus- 
ket demanded a surrender. The fellow 
sprang to his feel, and cocking his gun was 



OLD TIMES I^: OLD MONMOUTH. 



123 



in the act of bringing it round to the breast 
of Stewart, when the latter, instead of dis- 
charging his piece, closed in with him and 
succeeded after a scufHe in bringing him 
to the floor. He then avowed himself to be 
.John Bacon, and asked for quarter, wlii h 
was at once readily granted to him by Stew 
art. Tliey arose from tlie floor, and Stew- 
art (still retaining his hold on Bycon) 
called to Cook, who, when he discovered 
the supposed murderer of his brother, be- 
came exasperated, and stepping back gave 
Bacon a bayonet thrust unknown to Stew- 
art or his companions. Bacon appeared 
faint and fell. After a sliort time he re- 
covered and attempted to escape by the 
back door. Slewirt pushed a table against 
it. Bacon hurled itaws^yand struck Stew 
art to the floor, opened liie door, and ajiain 
attempted to pass out; hut was shot by 
Stewart (who liad regained his feet) while 
in the act. Tlie ball passed through his 
body, tlirougii a part of the building, and 
struck the breast of Cook, who had taken 
a position at the back door to prevent 
egress. Cook's companions were ignorant 
of the fact that he iuid given Bacon the 
bayonet wound, and would scarcely credit 
him when he so informed tiiem on their 
way home. They examined Bacon's body 
at Mount Misery, an i the woumis made 
l)y both bayonet and ball were obvious, 
'riiey brought his dead body to Jacobstown, 
Burlington county, and were in the act of 
burying it in the public highway, near the 
village in the presence of many citizens 
who had collected on the occasion, when 
Bacon's tirother appeared among them and 
after much entreaty succeeded in obtain- 
ing his body for private burial." 

This affair took place on Thursday eve- 
ning, April 3rd, ]78;j. 

As there have been some tlisputesin tra- 
ditionary accounts as to the exact manner 
of Bacon's death, we have been at much 
trouble to get at the truth. Some old resi- 
dents of the vicinity where he was killed 
are, positive that he was siiot down after 
asking for quarter. They say that Captain 
Stewart's party suddenly opened the door 
and pointetl a muskei at Bacon, who in- 
stantly rooe up and held a table before him 
and begged for quarter, but the musket 
was fired, and the ball went through the 
table and killed him. But after much pa- 
tient investigation and inquiry we be.ieve 
this story is untrue, and that the correct 
version is about as Governor Fort has giv- 
en it. We are sorry to add, however, tliat 
the party lreatei.1 the body with unjusliiia- 



ble indignity. As soon as Bacon was killed 
his body was thrown into a wagon with his 
head over the tail-board, and the party 
drove for home that same night. Young 
Cook seemed quite " carried away " to 
tiiink he had avenged his brother's death, 
and at tiie inns at Mannahawkin and 
Mount Misery, insisted on treating Bacon 
with liquor, fastening open his mouth 
while he poured liquor into it. The de- 
scendants of British sym[)athisers have 
charged the jiarty with much cru'^lty, but 
the only foundations are the indignities of- 
fered to his body ; and even there we can 
find some palliation for it, when we consid- 
er the excitement bordering on frenzy, of 
young Cook. 

In addition to what has been qu'^ted 
from Governor Fort regarding Bacon's buri- 
al, we have heard it stated that in accord- 
ance with an ancient custom with great 
criminals, the intention was to bury Bacon 
at tiie forks of some public roads, with a 
stake driven througli the body ; but his 
brother's arrival changed their plan. This 
brother of Bacon's was generally respected 
where he was known. 

The writer of this is under impression 
that before the war Bacon's home was in 
Burlington county, though he occasionally 
worked in Stafford township, in Ocean 
county, and he has been told that Bacon 
left a wife and two sons at Pemberton ; 
that his widow married a man named Mor- 
ris, and that the two sons emigrated VVest, 
and bec-ime respectable and useful citi 
zens. 

It is but just to add that among old resi- 
dents, generally of the Society of Friends, 
who though symj)athizing with the Ameri- 
cans, yet were non-combatants, that Bacon 
was held to be among the most honorable 
of the refuj^ee leade-s. They fay that ex- 
cept calling for a meal's victuals for him- 
self and men in passing, he never molested 
the persons or property of any but Ameri- 
cans in the militia service. 

Before closing, we will say that, although 
our State Council of Safety had declared 
Bacon an outlaw, and offered a reward for 
him dead f)r alive, yet it is probable that if 
he had been taken alive and delivered to 
the civil authorities he would have been 
liberated in purstiance of the treaty with 
Engb.nd. 

Hetfield, a much worse man than Bacon, 
many years after the war, had the impu- 
dence to return to Essex county (to en- 
deavor to secure some property there), 
when he was arrested for his misdeeds dur- 



124 



OLD TIxMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ing the Revolution •, but the judge decided 
he must be liberated in pursuance of the 
treaty with England. Most of the old resi- 
dents in ?]ssex well remember the intense 
excitement and indignation raised by the 
return and liberation of liiis scoundrel. 

The refugee leaders in our State — Het- 
field, Bacon, Lippincott, Davenport, Moody 
and others— all doubtless held commis- 
sions from the " Board of Associated Loy- 
alists," of which the President was Wil- 
liam Franklin, the last Britisli Governor 
of j^ew Jersey. 

CAPT. ADAM HYLER, 
The daring Privateer of the waters in 

AND AROUND — Ol.D MoNMOUTH. 



It is rare to find in fact or fiction, more 
daring exploits recorded than those per- 
formed chiefly in the waters around old 
Monmouth, by Captain Adam Hyler. who 
resided at New Brunswick during the lat- 
ter part of the Kevolutionary war. From 
some unaccountable cause, the heroic 
deeds of this man have received but little 
notice from historians ; indeed, we remem- 
ber of but one modere work that makes 
any allusion to them, and that gives only 
two or three of the items published below. 

Capt. Hyler's operations were carried on 
in Raritan bay, and along our coast as far 
down as Egg Harbor — chiefly, however, in 
the first named place. Though he some- 
times used sail craft, yet he generally de- 
pended upon whale boats or large barges, 
rowed by skillful crews. These barges 
were generally kept at New Brunswick, 
but some were at times concealed in small 
streams emptying into Raritan bay and 
river, which place was then reached by 
old Cranberry Inlet. 

Though the Refugee band which had 
its headquarters at the settlement on 
Sandy Hook, around the lighthouse, gave 
great annovance to the patriots of Mon- 
mouth, yet their operations were much 
circumscribed by the efforts of Capt. Ply- 
.ler and his brave compatriots, who serious- 
ly interfered with the vessels of the refu- 
gees, as well as of the British, and when 
opportunity offered as will hereafter be 
seen, hesitated not to attack their settle- 
ment, and even the lighthouse fort itself. 
The refugees would sometimes boast of 
successful midnight marauding expedi- 
tions into the adjacent country, but the 
bold, skillful exploits of Ilylcr, far eclipsed 
their best planned efforts. 



A clear idea of Capt. Hylers manner of 
harassing the enemy is given in the fol- 
lowing extracts, copied from various an- 
cient I'appi's ]-)ublished at the time. They 
serve to aid in completing the picture of 
life and times in and around Old Mon- 
mouth during tiie Revolution. 

"October 7th, 1781. On Friday last. 
Capt. Adam Hyler, from New Brunswick, 
with one gun boat and two whale boats, 
within a quarter of a mile of the guard 
ship at Sandy Hook, attacked five vessels, 
and after a smart conflict of fifteen minu- 
tes carried them. Two of them were 
armed, one mounting four six poundors, 
and one six swivels, and one three pound- 
er. The hands made their escape with 
their long boats, and took refu.ye in a 
small fort, in which were mounted twelve 
swivel guns, from which they kept up v 
constant firing; notwithstanding which 
he boarded them all without the loss of a 
man. On board one of them was 250 
bushels of wheat and a quantity of cheese 
belonging to Capt. Lippencott, bound to 
New ^ork. He took from them fifty 
bushels of wheat, a quantity of cheese 
several swivels, a number of fusees, one. 
cask of powder and some dry goods; and 
stripped them of their sails and rigging — 
not being able to bring the vessels into 
port, in consequence of a contrary wind 
and tide. After which he set fire to all 
save one, on board"of which was a woman 
and four small children, which prevented 
her from sharing a similar fate." 

On the 13th of October, a week or ten 
days after the above mentioned afrair. 
Capt. Hyler with one gunboat and two 
whale boats, boarded a sloop and two 
schooners, which all hands, except two. 
had previously left, and which lay under 
the cover of the light house fort at Sandy 
Hook, and brought them all off; but the 
sloop being a dull sailor, and being much 
annoyed from a galley lying near Staten 
island, she was set on fire about three 
miles from the fort. One of the schooners 
running aground by accident, was stripped 
and left ; tlie other a remarkably fine fast 
sailing Virginia built pilot, mounted with 
one four pounder was brought, with two 
prisoners, safely oflf. 

On the 24th of the same month, he start- 
ed with one gunboat to surprise' the '• refu- 
gee town " at Sandy Hook. He landed 
within three quarters of a mile of the light 
house, but found the refugees were out in 
Monmouth County on a plundering expe- 
dition. He however fell in with six noted 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



I2r. 



villains who he brought off and lodged in 
a safe place. A subsequent notice of Capt. 
Hyler, says that at one time he captured 
the Captain of the guard at the light house, 
with all liis men, but whetiier it was at this 
or some other time, is not staled. 

Nov. 14th, 1781. On Saturday night, 
Capt. Hyler, with a gunboat and a small 
party of men went to the Narrows, where 
he captured a ship with fourteen iiands, 
and brought her off with the intention of 
running her up the Raritan river, but near 
the mouth she unluckily got aground, and 
as the enemy approached in force, lie was 
obliged to set her on fire. She was loaded 
with rum and porlc ; several hogsheads of 
the form<-r he got out and brought off with 
the prisoners.'' 

This ship captured was probably " The 
Father's D-^sire," as twenty hogs.heads of 
rum and thirty barrels of pork -.vere adver- 
tised by the U. S. Marshal to be sold a few 
days after ; which the advertisement states 
were taken from a ship of this name by 
Captain Hyler. 

" On the 15th of December. Capt. Hyler, 
who commands seven or eight stout whale 
boats, manned with near one hundred men, 
at the Narrows, fell in with two refugee 
sloops trading to Shrewsbury, one of them 
comm mded by the noted villain, ' Shore 
Stephens,' and liad on board £600 in spe- 
cie, besides a considerable quantity of dry 
goods ; the other had similar articles, also 
sugar, rum. etc. They were taken to New 
Brunswick." 

The many daring exploits of Capt. Hy- 
ler, following so close one after another, 
aroused the Biitish at New York, and 
they fitted out an expedition with the de- 
termination of destroying his boats, and 
if p>>ssible, capturing him. 'I'he following 
account of this expedition is derived 
chiefly from Philadelphia papers, of the 
date of January 15th and 16th, 1782: 

•' A party of the British lately (about 
January 9th) made an incursion to New 
Brunswick with the design, it is said, of 
carrying off the boats of the celebi'ated 
partizan, Capt. Adam Hyler. They land- 
ed at New Brunswick and plundered two 
houses, but were gallantly opposed by the 
neighboring militi i. and the enemy were 
driven off with some loss. Farther ac- 
counts say there were some 200 refugees 
and British, and that they suoceeded in 
destroying the whale boats. No Ameri- 
cans were killed, but five were wounded 
and six taken prisoners. Several tories 
were killed — four known to be, and sev- 



eral wei-e seen to be carried off. The 
British made the attack about 5 o'clock, 
A. M., just before daylight, and the Ameri- 
can account says the expedition was well 
planned, and that the Tories held the 
town for about an hour. The British reg 
ulars were detachments from the 40th 
and 42d regiments, under command of 
Capt. Beck with, in six boats, and they 
took away all of Hyler's boats. The Brit- 
ish alleged that Captain Hyler was a de- 
serter from the Royalists." 

It is probable that at this time, besides 
his boats at New Brunswick, Capt, Hyler 
had others concealed elsewhere, as we find 
early in the following spring he was at 
work as usual, i'pparently, but little in- 
convenienced by the loss of the boats 
taken by the British, though he may have 
built some in the meantime. In March 
following, when the British attacked and 
burned Toms River, they boasted of hav- 
ing captured there a fine large barge, be- 
longing to Capt. Hyler. 

In April, 1782, Capt. Hyler, in an open 
boat, boarded and took a large cutter, 
almost ready for .sea, lying near Sandy 
Hook, and near the Lion man-of-war, 64 
guns. This cutler mounted twelve 18 
pounders, and was commanded by one 
Wliile. formerly of Philadelphia, but 
turned apostate. Hyler blew up the ves- 
sel, which was designed as a cruiser, and 
took forty prisoners. Another account 
says the number of prisoners was fifty, and 
the cutter's armament was six 18 pounders 
and ten 9 pounders. At the same time he 
took a sloop which was ransomed for £400. 
Tlie Captain of the cutter gives an amus- 
ing account of the way Hyler captured his 
vessel, which will be found hereafter. 

"On the 25th of May, 1782. Capt. Hyler, 
with his armed boats, being in Shrewsbury 
river, a party of British troops, consisting 
of twenty-five men, under Capt. Shaak, 
was detaclied to intercept him in the gut. 
Hyler discovered them, and landed thir- 
teen men, with orders to charge; when 
four of the enemy were killed or wounded, 
and the Capt. and eight men taken prison- 
ers. By the firing of a gun it was ^up- 
posed others were killed, as they were 
seen to fall. Just before this affair, Capt. 
Hyler had met with a hurt, or otherwise he 
probably would not have let a man es 
cape." 

On the 2d of July, Captain Hyler, assist- 
ed by Captain Stoiy, another brave par- 
tizan, in New York bay, with two whale 
boats, boarded and took the schooner Skip 



120 



OLD TIMES [N OLD MON MOUTH. 



Jack, carrying six guns, besides swivels, 
and burned her at noon, in sight of the 
guard-sliip, and took tlie captain and nine 
or ten men prisoners. About, the same 
time he also took three or four trading 
vessels, loaded with calves, sheep, &c. 

These were probably about the last ex- 
ploits in which Captain Hyler was en- 
gaged, as we find no farther mention of 
his name in ancient papers until the an- 
nouncement of his death, some two months 
after. He died at New Brunswick, on the 
6th of September. 1782. 

The following from an ancient paper 
gives a graphic account of his manner of 
conducting his operations. It was original- 
ly published June 19th, 1782 : 

" The exertions of the celebrated water 
partizan. Captain Adam Hyler, have been 
a considerable annoyance to the wood 
shallops, trading vessels, and plundering 
pirates of the enemy about Sandy Hook, 
Long Island, and Staten Island, for sev- 
eral months past. You have heard that 
his effort to take an eighteen gun cutter 
was crowned with success. It was indeed 
a bold and hazardous attempt, considering 
how well she was provided against being 
boarded. He was, however, compelled to 
blow her up, after securing his prisoners 
and a few articles on board. His surpris- 
ing a captain of the guard, at the light- 
house, with all his men, a short time ago, 
was a handsome affair, and gained him 
much credit. He has none but picked 
and tried men ; the person who discovers 
the least symptom of fear or diffidence, be 
he who he will, is immediately turned on 
shore, and never suffered to enter again. — 

In the next place, they are taught to be 
particularly expert at tlie oar, and to row 
with such silence and dexerity as not to 
be heard at the smallest distance, even 
though three or four boats be together, 
and go at the rate of twelve miles an hour. 

" Their captin-es are made chiefly by 
surprise or stratagem; and most o^ the 
crews that have hitherto been take by 
tliesft boats declare they never knew any- 
thing of an enemy bemg at hand till they 
saw the pistol or cut lass at their throats. 

"There was a droll instance of this some 
weeks ago, as one of the prisoners, a 
shrewd, sensible fellow, and late captain 
of one of the captured vessels, relates it 
himself. Said he, ' 1 was on deck with 
three or four men, on a very pleasant «ven- 
ing, with our sentinel fixfd. Our vessel 
was at anchor near Siindv [look, and the 



Lion man-ofwar about one quarter of a 
mile distant. It was calm and clear, and 
we were all admiring the beautiful and 
splendid appearance of the full moon 
which was then three or four hours above 
the horizon. While we were thus atten- 
tively contemplating the serene luminary, 
we suddenly henrd several pistols dis- 
charged into the cabin, and turning 
around, perceived at our elbows a number 
of armed people, fallen as it were from 
the clouds, who ordered us to ' surrender 
in a moment, or we were dead men !" Up- 
on this we were turned into the hold and 
the hatches barred over us. The firing, 
howeviM', had alarmed the man-of-war, 
who hailed us, and desired to know wiiat 
was tiie matter. As we were not in a sit- 
uation to aiswer, at least so far as to be 
heard. Captain Hyler was kind enough to 
do so for us, telling them through the 
speaking trumpet that ' all was well.' — 
After which, unfortunately for us, they 
made no fartiier inquiry.' " 

After the notorious refugee, Lippencott, 
had barbarously murdered Captain Joshua 
Huddy, near the Highlands, General 
Washington was anxious to have the mur- 
derer secured. He had been demanded 
of the British General, and his surrender 
refused. Captain Hyler was deierniined 
to take Lippencott. On inquiry he found 
that he resided in a well known house, in 
Broad street. New York. Dressed and 
equipped like a man-of-war press gang, he 
left the Kills, with one boat, after dark, 
and arrived at Wliitehall about nine 
o'clock. Here he left his boat in charge 
of three men, and passed to the residence 
of Lippencott, where he inquir'=d for him 
and found that he was absent, having gone 
to a cock pit. Thus failing in his object 
he returned to his boat, with his press gang, 
and left Whitehall, but finding a sloop ly- 
ing at anchor off the battery, from the 
West Indies, laden with rum, he took her, 
cut her cal)le, «et her sails, and with a 
north-east wind sailed to Elizebethtown 
loint, and before daylij;ht had landed 
from her and secured forty hogsheads of 
rum. He then burned the sloop to pre- 
vent her re-capture. — (This again furni.whes 
tiie groundwork of a very interesting story, 
published originally in Major Noah's New 
York Sunday Times, and afterwards re- 
published by tlie author, ill a book entitled 
" Tales and Traditions of New York." — 
The writer however, occasionally blends 
fiction with facts, which, though perhaps 
servinir to increase the interest of his sto- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD xMON MOUTH. 



12: 



ries, yet renders his work unreliable as a 
matter of history). 

The writer of this has been unable to 
find any notice of Captain Hyler previous 
to 1771. The occasion of this probably is 
that he was in the British service in the 
early part of the war, but being convinced 
of the unjustness of the cause in which he 
was engaged, he left them and joined the 
Americans. The British at New Bruns- 
wick, as before stated, charged him with 
being a deserter, and the Tory paper pub- 
lished in New York (Rivington's Royal 
Gazette), Jan. 12, 1782, says : " This Hyler 
is, a deserter from the royal service, and 
ever since his defection has proved too 
successful an enterprizer in his various 
descents upon'our vicinities." 

The fact of Captain Hyler's having been 
formerly in the British service, increases 
our admiration for his bold operations. — 
Had he been taken by the British, he 
probably would have received a deserter's 
puiaishment. 

The writer of this has had occasion to 
make a thorough examination of the origi- 
nal pay rolls of all vessels of war in the ser- 
vice of our government in the war of 1812, 
and previous, which rolls are now preserved 
in the Treasury Department at Wash- 
ington. In looking over the rolls contain- 
ing the list of officers and men serving un- 
der Commodore Perry and other noted 
heroes on the lakes is to be found the 
name of an under officer named Adam 
Hyler, who faithfully served throughout 
that war, who was evidently named after 
and probably a near relative of the Captain 
Adam Hyler of Revolutionary fame. 



OTHER PRIVATEERS. 
Captain Storer. 

The following is from an ancient paper 
published in 1782, just previous to the close 
of the war. 

" We learn that the brave Captain Stor- 
er, commissioned as a private boat of-war 
under the State, and who promises to be 
the genuine successor of the late Captain 
Hyler. has given a recent instance of his 
valor and conduct in capturing one of the 
enemy's vessels. He went in two boats 
through the British fleet in the Narrows, 
and boarded a vessel under the flag staff 
battery. He captured the vessel without 
alarm She was a sloop in the Engineers 
department of H. B. M. service, and was 
carried away safely.'' 



Captain William Marriner. 
Captain Marriner lived in New Bruns- 
wick during the war. From notice of him 
in ancient papers, we find he was another 
brave enterprising partizan, as the follow- 
ing extracts will show, The first is from 
a letter dated June i7th, 1778. 
I " William Marriner, a volunteer, with 
eleven men and Lieutenant John Sohenck, 
of our militia, went last Saturday evening 
\ from Middletown Point to Long Island, in 
I order to take a few prisoners from Flat- 
bush, and returned with Major MoncriefF 
and Mr. Theopiiilus Bacho (tlie worshipful 
I Mayor and Tormentor-General, David 
I Matthews, Esq., wiio has inflicted on our 
, prisoners the most unheard of cruelties, 
- and who was the principal object of the 
j expedition, being unfortunately in the 
j city,)with four slaves, and brought them 
I to Princeton, to be delivered to his excel- 
( lency the Governor. Mr. Marriner with 
! his party left Middletown Point on Satur- 
; day evening, and returned at six o'clock 
{ next morning, having traveled by land 
j and water above fifty miles, and be- 
haved with greatest prudence and brav- 
ery." 

'J'he following is from an official naval 
work in the Library of Congress : 

" The privateer Biacksnake was captur- 
ed by the British, but in April, 1780, Cap- 
tain William Marriner, with nine men in 
a whale boat, retook her. Captain Mar- 
! riner then put to sea in his prize, and cap- 
tured the Morning Star, of 6 swivels and 
; 33 men, after a sharp resistance, in which 
I slie lost three killed and five wounded ; 
he carried both prizes into Egg Harbor." 

After the war Captain Marriner removed 
to Harlem, where he lived many years. 

The Paniel Matthews alove spoken of 
was the Tory Mayor of New York, during 
the Revolution, and noted for his enmity 
to all favoring the Americans. 
Captain Jackson. 
"December I8th, 1782. — Capt. Jackson 
of the Greyhound, in the evening of Sun- 
day, last week, with much address, cap- 
tured witnin the Hook, the Schooner Dol- 
phin and sloop Diamond, bound from New 
York to Halifax, and brought them into 
Egg Harbor. These vessels were both 
condemned to the claimants, and the sale 
amounted to £10,200. 

Successful Exploit. 

In the following item from the Packet, 
.Ian. 1779, tio names are mentioned. 



128 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



"Some Jerseymen went in row boats to 
Sandy Hook and took four sloops, one of 
which was armed. They burned three 
and took one; also nineteen prisoners. 

The share of prize money per man, was 
£400." 

PASSAGES IN THE RELIGIOUS HIS- 
TORY OF OLD MONMOUTH. 



The Universalists — Origin of the Socie- 
ty IN America. 

THE POTTER CHURCH. 

A Free Church in the Olden Time — A Ref- 
uge for Methodism in its Dark Days — 
The Cradle of Universalism in America 
— Its Benevolent Founder and Remark- 
able Incidents in liis Life. 
A singular and interesting chapter in 
the religious history of our State, and one 
but little known outside of members of 
the Universalist society, relates to a church 
formerly called " the Potter church," 
built not far from 1760 to 1765, at Good- 
luck, in that part of old Monmouth now 
confined within the limits of Ocean coun- 
ty, by a benevolent resident of that vilUxge 
named Thomas Potter. Before building 
the church, Potter had been in the custom 
of opening his house to travelling preach- 
ers of all persuasions ; and, after a while, 
to accommodate them, he built this church 
free for all denominations. His object is 
best expressed in his own words : " As I 
firmly believe that all mankind are equal- 
ly dear to Almighty God, they .shall all be 
equally welcome to preach in this house 
which I have built." After it was built, it 
was used by traveling ministers of the 
Presbyterian, Baptist, Quaker, Methodist 
and other societies, and in it was preached 
the first Universalist sermon ever delivered 
in America. The Methodist society in 
New Jersey owe a debt of gratitude to 
Thomas Potter for always openinii his 
church to the noble pioneers of Method- 
ism in tlie dark days of its history, when 
Methodism not only met with opposition 
from other societies on account of differ 
ence in religious sentiments, but also, 
when during tlie Revolution, their ene- 
mies most unwarranti^bly slandered them 
by charging them with being in sympathy 
with Great Britain. Though these slan- 
ders had the eftect of rendering the heroes 
of Methodism so unpopular that they 
could hardly obtain a hearing in most 
parts of this State, as well as in other 



States, yet the Potter church was always 
open to them, and so often used by them, 
that some Methodist writers at the present 
day who have found the name of this 
church frequently mentioned in the jour 
nals of these pioneers, have concluded it 
must have be«n a Methodist church, 
though where it was situated, and why it 
was so called, they have been unable to 
divine. Among the preachers well known 
in the annals of Methodism who preached 
in it, were Benjamin Abbott and Bishop 
Asbury ; and in it was married James Ster- 
ling, the most earnest, effective layman 
the society had in its early struggles in 
New Jersey. 

The most satisfactory account of Thom- 
as Potter and his church is given by Rev. 
Jolin Murray, who preached in it the first 
Universalist sermon ever delivered in 
America, under circumstances so very sin- 
gular that his narrative forms an interest- 
ing as well as important part of our church 
history. As Murreiy''s Journal is rarely to 
be met with except occasionally among 
some of his own denomination, we give the 
substance of his account, though, before 
giving it, it is necessary to say a few words 
in regard to Mr. Murray himself. 

The Rev. John Murray, the first preach- 
er of Universalism in America, sailed from 
England for New York, July 21fet, 1770. — 
When he left England though a warm ad- 
vocate of the principles of that society, yet 
he was not a regular preacher and had but 
little idea then of becoming one in Amer- 
ica. During a thick fog in the early part 
of the month of September, the brig 
" Hand in Hand," in which he was act- 
ing as supercargo, struck on the outer bar 
of old Cranbeiry Inlet ( now closed ) near- 
ly opposite Totas River ; she soon passed 
over and was held by her anchors from go- 
ing on shore. Here she remained several 
days before she could be got off. While 
lying here the provisions of the brig were 
exhausted, and after locking up the ves- 
sel, all hands proceeded in a boat across 
the bay to the main in search of susten- 
ance. Being unacquainted with tlie main, 
they spent a great part of the day before 
they could efJectuate their purpose, after 
which, it being late, they proceeded to a 
tavern to stay all night. Mr. Murray'^ 
mind appears to have been much exercised 
by eventful scenes in his previous life and 
to have longed to get somewhere where 
the busy cares of the world would not dis- 
turb his meditations ; and hence as soon 
as the boatmen arrived at the tavern he 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



129 



left them for a' solitary walk through the 
dark pine grove. " Here," said l)e, I was 
as much alone as I could wish and my 
heart exclaimed, Uh that I had in this wil- 
derness the lodging of a poor wayfaring 
man ; some cave, some grot, some place 
where I might tinish my days in calm re- 
uose.'' As he thus passed along musing, 
he unexpectedly reached a small log house 
where he saw a girl cleaning tish ; he re- 
quested her to sell him some. She had 
none to spare, but told him he could get 
all he wanted at the nex' house. "What, 
this?" said Mr. Murray pointing to one he 
could just discern through the woods. — 
The girl told him no, that was a meeting 
house. He was much surprised to find a 
meeting house there in the woods. He 
was directed to pass on by the meeting 
house and at the next house he would 
find fish. He went on as directed and 
came to the door near which was a large 
pile of fish of various sorts, and standing 
by was a tall man, rough in appearance 
and evidently advanced in years. "Pray 
sir," said Mr Murray, " will you have the 
goodness te sell me one of those fish ?" — 
" No sir," was the abrupt reply of the old 
gentleman. "That is strange," replied 
Mr. Murray, "when you have so many 
fish, lo refuse me a single one!" 

"I did not refuse you a fish, sir; you are 
welcome to as many as you please, but I 
do not sell the article; I do not sell fish, 
sir, I have them for taking up and you 
may obtain them the same way." Mr. 
Murray tlianked him ; the old man then 
inquired what he wanted of tliem, and was 
told he wished them for supper for the 
mariners at the tavern. The old man of- 
iVred to send the fish over for him. and 
urged Mr. Murray to tarry with him thai 
nighi. Mr. Murray consented to return 
after visiting the crew at the public house. 
This old gentleman was Thomas Potter. — 
Mr. Murray says he was astonished to see 
so much genuine politeness and hospitali- 
ty under so rough an exterior, but his as- 
tonishment was greatly increased on his 
return. The old man's room was prepared, 
his fire briglit and his heart opened. — 
" Come," said he, " my friend, I am glad 
you have returned, I have longed to see 
you, I have been expecting you a long 
ti"'e." Expecting him ! Mr. Murray was 
amazed, and asked what he meant. Mr. 
Potter replied, " 1 must answer in my own 
way ; I am a poor ignorant man, I know 
how neither to read or write ; I was 
born in tiiese woods and worked on these 



grounds until I became a man, when I 
went on coasting voyages from here to New 
York ; I was then about getting married, 
but in going to New York once I was 
pressed on board of a man-of-war and tak- 
en in Admiral Wa.iren's ship to Cape Bre- 
ton. 1 never drank any rum, so they saved 
my allowance ; but 1 would not bear an 
affront, so if any of the officers struck me 
I struck them again, but the admiral took 
my part and called me his new-light man. 
When I reached Louisburg 1 ran away and 
traveled barefooted through the country 
and almost naked lo New York, where I 
was known and supplied with clothes and 
money, and soon returned home, when T 
found my girl aiarried. This rendered me 
unhappy, but I recovered my tranquility 
and married her sister. I settled down to 
work 9,'nd got forward quite fast ; con- 
structed a saw mill, possessed myself of 
thi^ farm and five hundred acres of adjoin- 
ing land. I entered into navigation, own 
a sloop and have now got together a fair 
estate. I am, as I said, unable to read or 
write, but I am capable of reflection ; the 
sacred Scriptures liave been often read to 
me, from which 1 gathered that there is a 
great and good Being who has preserved 
and protected me througli innumerable 
dangers, and to whom we are all indebted 
for all we enjoy ; and as He has given me 
a house of my own I conceived I could do 
no lets than to open it to the stranger, let 
him be who he would ; and especially if a 
traveling minister parsed this way he al- 
ways received an invitation to put up at 
my house and hold his meetings here. 

" 1 continued in this piaclice for more 
than seven years, and illiterate as I was I 
used to converse with them, and was fond 
of asking them questions. They pro- 
nounced me an odd mortal, declaring 
themselves it a loss what to make of me ; 
while I continued to affirm that I had but 
one hope ; 1 believed that Jesus Christ 
sufiered death for my transgressions, and 
this alone was sufficient for me. At length 
my wife grew weary of having meetings 
held in her house, and I determined to 
build a house for the worship of God. I 
had no children, and 1 knew that I was 
beholden to Almighty God for everything 
which 1 possessed, and it seemed right I 
should appropriate a part of what He be- 
stowed (or his service. My neighbors of- 
fered their assistance, ' But no,' said I, 
' God has triven me enough to do this work 
without your aid, and as he has put it in 
my heart to do so, so I will do.' 'And 



130 



OLD TIMES m OLD MONMOUTH. 



who,' it was asked, ' will be your preach- 
er ?' I answered, God will send me a 
preacher, and of a very different stamp ] 
from those who have heretofore preached 
in my house. The preachers we have ' 
heard are perpetually contradicting them- 
selves ; but that God who has put it into 
my heart to build this house, will send one 
who shall deliver unto me his own truth ; 
who shall speak of Jesus Christ and his 
salvation. When the house was finished 
I received an application from the Bap- 
tists, and I told them it they could make 
it appear that God Almif;;hty was a Bap- 
tist, I should give them the building at 
once. The Quakers and Presbyterians re- 
ceived similar answers. No, said I, as I 
firmly believe that ail mankind are equal- 
ly dear to Almighty God, they shall all be 
equally welcome to preach in this house 
which I have built. My neighbors assured 
me I should never see a preacher whose 
sentiments corresponded with my own, 
but I uniformly replied I assuredly would. 
I engaged for the first year with a man 
whom I greatly disliked; we parted, and 
for some years we have had no stated min- 
ister. My friends often asked me, ' where 
is the preache/ of whom you spoke ?' and 
my constant reply, ' he will by and by 
make his appearance." The moment, sir, 
1 saw your vessel on shore it seemed as if 
a voice had audibly sounded in my ears, 
' There, Potter, in that vessel, castaway on 
that shore, is the preacher you have so long 
been expecting.' I heard the voice and 
believed the report, and when you came 
up to my door and asked for the fish the 
same voice seemed to repeal, ' Potter, this 
is the man — this is the person whom I have 
sent to preach in your house I'" 

As may be supposed Murray was im- 
measurably astonished at Mr. Potter's nar- 
rative, but yet had not the least idea that 
his wish could ever be realized. He asked 
him what he could discern in his appear- 
ance to lead him to mistake him for a 
preacher. ' What,' said Potter, ' «ould I 
discern when you were in the vessel that 
could induce this conclusion? Sir, it is not 
what I saw or see, but what I feel which 
produces in my mind full conviction.' — 
Murray replied that he must be deceived, 
as lie should never preach in that place or 
anywhere else. 

'' Have you never preached — can you 
say you never preached ?" 

" I cannot, but I never intend to preach 
airaiu." 



" Has not God lifted up the light of His 
countenance upon you? Has he not shown 
you the truth ?" 

'' I trust he has.'' 

'' Then how dare you hide this truth ? — 

Do men light a candle and put it under a 
bushel. If God has shown you His salva- 
tion why should you not show it to your 
fellow men. But 1 know that you will, 1 
am sure that God Almighty has sent you 
to us for this purpose. I am not deceived, 
sir, I am sure I am not deceived." 

Murray was much agitated when this 
man thus spoke on, and began to wonder 
whether or no God who ordains all things, 
had not ordained that this should come to 
pass, but his heart trembled, he tells us, 
at the idea. He endeavored, he says, to 
quiet his own fears and to silence the warm 
hearted old man by informing him he was 
supercargo of the vessel, that jsroperty to 
a large amount was entrusted to his care, 
and that the moment the wind changed 
he was under solemn obligations to de- 
part. 

" The wind will never change," said Pot- 
ter, " until you have delivered to us in that 
meeting house a message trom God." 

Murray still resolutely determined nev- 
er to enter any pulpit as a pieachtr, but 
being much agitated in mind asked to be 
shown to bed after he had prayed with 
the family. When they parted for the 
night, his kind host solemnly requested 
him to think of what he said. 

" Alas, says Murray, he need not have 
made this request; it was impossible to 
banish it from my mind; when I entered 
my chamber and shut the door, 1 burst in- 
to tears ; I felt as if the hand of God was 
in the events which had brought me to 
this place, and I prayed most ardently 
that God would assist and direct nie by 
his counsel." 

So much exercised was he in mind that 
he spent the greater part of the night in 
praying and weeping, " dreading more 
than death, he says, supposing death to 
be an object of dread, the idea ot engaging 
as a public character." In his writings he 
gives the substances of his meditations and 
prayers on that memorable night. In the 
morning his good iViend renewed his solici- 
tations : " Will you speak to me and my 
neighbors of the things which belong to, 
our peace ?" 

Murray seeing only thick woods, the tav- 
ern across the fields excepted, requested 
to know what he meant by neigh Ikh's. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MOxN MOUTH. 



131 



" O, sir, we assemble a large congrega- 
tion whenever the meeting house is open- 
ed ; indeed when my father first settled 
here he was obliged to go twenty miles to 
grind a bushel of corn, but now there are 
more than seven hundred inhabitants 
within that distance.'' 

Murray still could not be prevailed up 
on to yield, but Potter insisted and seemed 
positive the wind would not change until 
he had spoken to the people. Tlius urged, 
Murray began to waver and at length he 
tells us he '' implored God, who sometimes 
condescends to indulge individuals with 
tokens of his approbation, graciously to in- 
dulge me upon tiiis important occasion, 
and that if it was His will that I should 
obtain my soul's desire by passing through 
life as a private individual, if such was not 
his will that I should engage as^ a preacher 
of the ministry, He would vouchsafe to 
grant me a wind as might bear me from 
this shore before another Sabbath. I de- 
termined to take the changing of the wind 
for an answer." 

But the wind changed not, and towards 
the close of the Saturday afternoon he re- 
luctantly gave his consent to preaching 
the next day, and Mr. Potter immediately 
despatched his men on horse back to noti- 
fy the neighbors, which they were to con- 
tinue to do until ten o'clock in the even- 
ing. Mr. Murray apj^ears to iiave had but 
little rest that night, thinking over the re- 
sponsibilities of the avocation he was so 
unexpectedly about to be engaged in, and 
of what lie should say and how he sliould 
address the people ; but the passage 
" Take no thought what ye shall say," etc., 
appears to have greatly relieved his mjnd. 
Sunday morning they proceeded to the 
church. Potter very joyful and Murray 
uneasy, distrusting his own abilities to re- 
alize the singularly high formed expecta- 
tions of his kind host. The church at that 
day is described as being " neat and con- 
v.enient, with a pulpit rather after the 
Quaker mode, with but one new pew and 
that a large square one just below the pul- 
pit in which sat the venerable Potter and 
his family and visiting strangers ; the rest 
of the seats were constructed with backs, 
roomy and even elegant." As Murray was 
preaching Potter looked up into the pul- 
pit, his eyes sparkling with pleasure, seem- 
ingly completely happy at the fulfillment 
of what he firmly believed a promise long 
deferred. We have no record of the sub- 
stance of this, the first Universalist ser- 
mon in America, nor of its impression up- 



on any of the hearers save one — that one 
Thomas Potter himself, appears to have 
had all his expectations realized, and up- 
on their return home overwhelmed Mur- 
ray with his frank, warm-hearted congrat- 
ulations ; and soon visitors poured in. — 
Siiid Potter to them " This is the happiest 
day of my life ; there, neighbors, there is 
the minister God has sent me." Murray 
was so overcome by the old man's enthu- 
siastic demonstrations that he retired to 
his room and tells us he '* prostrated him- 
self at the throne of grace, and besought 
God to take him and do with him what 
he pleased." 

After a while he returned to the compa- 
ny and found the boatmen with them, who 
wished him to go on board immediately, 
as the wind was fair. So he was compelled 
to leave. His host was loth to part with 
him and exacted a promise from him to 
return, which he soon did, and preached 
often in the Potter church and other vil- 
lages. The first place he visited during 
this stay was Toms River. He relates two 
or three interestin:; scenes occurring here, 
in explaining to individuals his peculiar 
religious views. The next village he visit- 
ed was probably Mannahawkin, for though 
he does not mention the name, yet he 
speaks of a Baptist preacher and church, 
of a family of Pangburns, &c., and there 
was then a Bapti**! churcli at that village, 
and the Pangburn family were then prom- 
inent members of it. (Lines Pangburn was 
a delegate from the Mannahawkin Baptist 
church to the Baptist General Association, 
in 1771. A man named Lines Pangburn 
was afterward killed by refugees at Man- 
nahawkin — probably the same one.) 

For many years, and thouijh travelling 
in various parts of the United States, yet 
as long as Thomas Potter lived, his house 
at Goodluck was considered by Murri-y as 
his home. At length, after being away 
some time upon a religious mission, he re- 
turned and found that liis good old friend 
was dead ; his letter describing this visit, 
recounting some of the scenes of Potter's 
life, his traits of character, his own feel- 
ings, etc., is full of tender feeling and sin- 
cere grief, admirably expressed, and the 
substance of the discourse which he 
preached on that occasion, in that memor- 
able old chapel, is a touching specimen of 
Murray's eloquence. A brief extract will 
serve to liive an idea of Muri'ay's style and 
of his feelings towards his departed friend. 
His text was " For ye are bought with a 
price ; therefore glorify God in your body 



132 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



and in your spirit which are God's." To- 
wards the close of his discourse, pointing 
towards Potter's grave which could be seen 
from where lie stood, he says : 

" Through yonder open casement I be- 
hold the grave of a man, the recollection 
of whom swells my heart with gratitude, 
and fills my eyes with tears. There sleeps 
the sacred dust of him who well under 
stood the advantages resulting from the 
public worsliip of God. There rests the 
ashes of him who glorified God in his body, 
and in his spirit, which he well knew were 
the Lord's. He believed he was bought 
with a price, and therefore he declared that 
all tliat he had and all tliat he was, were 
righteouslv due to God, who created and 
purchased him with a price, all price be- 
yond. There rests the precious dust of 
the friend of strangers, whose hospitable 
doors were ever open to the destitute, and 
him who had none to relieve his suffer- 
ings ; his dust reposes close to this edifice, 
itself a monument of his piety. Dear, 
faithful man, when last I stood in this 
place, he was present among the assemblj'^ 
of the people. I marked his glistening 
eye ; it always glistened at the emphatic 
name of Jesus. Even now, I behold in 
imagination, his venerable countenance, 
benignity is seated on his brow, his mind, 
apparently open and confiding, tranquili- 
ty reposeth upon his features, every vary- 
ing emotion evincing faith in that endur- 
ing peace which passeth understnnding. — 
Let us, my friends, imitate his philanthro- 
py, his charity, his piety. I may never 
meet you again until we unite to swell the 
loud hallelujahs before the throne of God. 
But to hear of your faith, of your persever- 
ance, of your works of charity, of your 
brotherly love, will heighten my enjoy- 
ments and soothe my sorrows, even to the 
verge of mortal i)ilgrimage.'' 

Potter in his will left the church to Mur- 
ray. The clause in his will reads, as given 
in Murray's life, as follows: 

" The house was built by me for the 
worsliip of God ; it is my will that God be 
worshipped in it still, and for this purpose 
f wiil that ray ever dear friend, John Mur- 
ray, preacher of the gospel, j^ossess it, hav- 
ing the sole direction, disposal and man 
agement of said house and one acre of 
land upon which it stands and by which 
it is surrounded." 

It was Mr. Murray's desire as well as Mr. 
Potter's, that the church should be kept 
free to all denominations for the worship 
of God. In his sermon just quoted he 



says : " Thomas Potter built this house 
that God might be worshipped without in- 
terruption, that he might be worshipped 
by all whom he stiould vouchsafe to send. 
This elegant bouse, my friends, the first 
friends who hailed my arrival in this coun- 
try, this house with its a<]joining grove is 
yours. The faitliful founder bequeathed 
it to me that none of you may be deprived 
of it," and in Mr. Murray's will he express- 
ly left it free to all denominations. 

This church property is now under the 
control of the Methodists, the Universal- 
ists, though manifesting little or no dispo- 
sition to dispute their claim, yet contend 
that its sale was through "the mismanage- 
ment of the executor to satisfy illegal 
claims, tfcc." The Unlversalists held an 
interesting conference at the church, Mav 
l.'itli, 1833, which was attended by many 
of their leading preachers and laymen, 
and while there erected the tombstone 
over Potter's grave, which yet marks the 
spot where he was buried. The ceremony 
WPS quite impressive. Rev. A. C. Thomas 
delivering an appropriate discourse, after 
which a hymn corauosed for the occasion. 
was sung among other exercises. This 
conference, while there, adopted a circular 
letterto their churches generally, in which, 
among other things they say : " We have 
been on a mission of love and gratitude, 
liave assembled in the ancient house of 
our Fathers, have convened around the 
grave of the venerated Potter, and dropped 
a tear of grateful remembrance on the 
spot where repose his ashes, etc.," and 
then earnestly invite their brethren from 
the East and from the West, from the 
North and from the South to unite with 
thera "in an annual pilgrimage to this 
sacred spot — this Holy Land, in order that 
we may all receive a little of the Godlike 
spirit of benevolence which warmed the 
soul of that man of God, and friend of man, 
Thomas Potter. 

Their earnest and feeling appeal to their 
brethren to make this annual pilgrimage,' 
however, has met with a very feeble re- 
sponse, though since the time that John 
Murray delivered his first sermon in Sep- 
tember, 1770, the churclies of his follow- 
ers have increased to perha2)s twelve hun- 
dred, yet only once in a long while does 
one of their members make this pilgrim- 
age to this 'Holy Land ;' when they do 
and express a desire to preach, the doors 
are thrown open to them, and as long as 
the trustees are thus liberal to them as 
well as other denominations, they cer- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



133 



tainly can have no occasion to question 
the title. 

The substance of the foregoing account 
is derived from Everett's life of Murray 
and from writings of Murray himself. The 
warm unqualified endorsementof the char- 
acter of Murray, as a man, by such noble 
hearted men as General Greene of Revolu- 
tionary fame, and others who knew him, 
well show that implicit reliance can be 
placed upon his statements. In 1832. the 
Rev. A. C. Thomas visited Toms River and 
Goodluck, and in both places found per- 
sona who had listened to Murray in their 
youth, and cherished the faith they heard 
from him, and he conversed with several 
who remember having heard the circum- 
stances related by Murray of his first meet- 
ing with Potter, corroborating Murray's 
statements. 

Before dismisising the subject it may not 
be amiss to add that one tradition of the 
origin of the name of Goodluck, as applied 
to this village, is that when Murray was 
looking for provisions on his first arrival, 
and finding Potter so kind and open heart- 
ed, and the magnificent groves of pine so 
suited to his meditative mind, he exclaim- 
ed : 'Good Luck !' that 1 have found such 
a place and such a man. (There is anoth- 
er tradition of the name of Goodluck Point, 
near Toms River, which is different from 
the origin of Goodluck villnge.) 

An old gentleman broutrhc up in the vi- 
cinity of the church, whose father was a 
neighbor and friend of Thomas Potter, 
stated that he often heard his father re- 
late Potter's story of the naming of the 
place on this account; that in relation to 
Potter being carried off by a man of-war, 
he was gone so long the neighbors thought, 
him dead, and the girl to whom he Wdn to 
be married, thinking so also, she had mar- 
ried another man just before his return ; 
that Potter often told his neighbors, after 
he built the church, that God would send 
a minister after his own heart, and that in 
Murray he found fulfilled hi.s long defer- 
red expectations. 

The Centenary of Universalism. 

The one hundredth anniversary of the 
introduction of Universalism into the Uni- 
ted States was celebrated by a large con 
vocation of clergy and members of the So- 
ciety at Gloucester Mass., in September, 
1870; and the week following, on Sept. 
28th, memorial exercises conducted by that 
father in the church, Rev. Abel C. Thom- 
as, of Philadelphia, was held at the old 



Potter Church at Goodluck. The exer- 
cises consisted of praying, singing, address 
by Mr. Ballou, of Philadelphia, &c., afteF 
which the congregation were dismissed 
until one o'clock, when the grave of Mr. 
Potter the founder, of the church, was dec- 
orated with appropriate cei'emonies. For- 
ty years ago Rev. A. C Thomas caused a 
wooden fence to be put around Potter's 
grave ; on the centenary occasion this was 
removed and a neat iron fence substituted. 
The following letter from Rev. A. C. 
Thomas, to the Editor of the New .Jersey' 
Courier, giving some interesting details of 
the celebrations at Gloucester and Good- 
luck, and also items in the rise and pro- 
gress of the Society, is worthy a place in 
the history of the church : 

Thomas Potter and .John Murray. 

Mr. Editor: — In behsdfof many Univer- 
salists, I thank you for your iate fair and 
liberal article respecting Thomas Potter, of 
Good Luck, and the Rev. John Murray. — 
We expect no man to endorse liie state- 
ments of the latter, as recorded in his au 
tobiography ; nor the traditional accounts 
of his remarkable interview with the for- 
mer; but we are happy to know that the 
time has arrived for a truly catholic repre- 
sentation of our history as a people, as il- 
lustrated recently in your columns. 

In one item you were misinformed. We 
had no expectations of large '"delegations" 
of our members at the late celebration in 
Goodluck. Our centenary bad been at- 
tended the week previously in Gloucester, 
Mass., the number present being variously 
estimated from ten thousand to fifteen 
thousand, including two hundred and fif- 
ty out of our six hundred and fifty clergy- 
men. It was the date of the stated annual 
session of our General Convention, and 
was appointed to be held in Gloucester 
under the following circumstances. 

In i770 a Mr. Gregory, presumably a 
mariner, brought from London to Glou- 
cester a book written by Rev. .James Relly, 
in advocacy and defence of the doctrireof 
the restoration of all souls, in the Lord's 
own time and way. This book was passed 
from hand to hand, and made happy con- 
verts of a number of influential, religious 
people. 

It would require no great stretch of the 
imagination to date the landing of that 
booK on the 28th of September, of the year 
named ; and on that day Rev. John Mur- 
ray, a disciple of Relly (in the sense that 
Relly was a disciple of Christ) landed on 



134 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



the coast of New Jersey, as narrated in 
yo.ur recent article. 

After an extended missionary service in 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New Eng- 
land,, Murray was for the second time in 
Boston in 1774. Having heard of him as 
a dis.-iple of Relly, the Gloucester people 
sent for him. He accepted the invitation, 
the visit being a meeting of tlie lines of 
providence in the case. Here he after- 
wards settled as pastor, his meetings for 
Wor.-^hip being held in private houses uniil 
1788. In that year a meeting house was 
erected, and a more pretensions one in 
1805. The old building was then sold 
and devoted to secular uses in the villagf. 
Ten years later it was removed to a farm 
about two miles distant, and since that 
time has been used as a hay-barn. 

In 1804 Murray removed to Boston, and 
his successor in Gioucester, Rev. Thomas 
Jones, for forty-two years was minister of 
the parish, dying in 1846. 

During the session of our General Con 
v'>ntion last week, we had a memorial ser 
vice at ihe old church barn, and also at 
the grave of Father Jones, the latter be- 
ing marked by a huge granite obelisk ni 
the Cemetery. 

The late great convocation in Glouces- 
ter antediited the landing of Murray by 
the space of one week; and a few of us 
determined to spend the exact centenary 
at Goodluck. This was what took us 
there ; and there, precisely one hundred 
years from the landing of Murray, we held 
a memorial service in the old church, and 
also at the grave of Thomas Potter — the 
order being substantially the same that we 
had used in Gloucester. The only change 
was in this : " We strew this evergreen 
and these flowers in memory and honor of 
Thomas Potter, the friend and patron of 
John Murray, our early preacher of Uni- 
versalism in America." 

After a brief address V)y the Rev. Abel 
C. Tljomas, who conducted the services, 
the following hymn was sung, and the ser- 
vice proceeded in the ordei' given below. 

Whilst far and wide thy scattered sheep. 
Great Shepherd, iu tlie desert stray, 

Thy lore by som* is thought to sleep, 
Unheedful of the wanderer's way. 

But truth declams tliey shall be found. 
Wherever uow they darkling roam, 

Thy love shall through the desert sound, 
.^.nd summon every wanderer home. 

Upon the darkened wavs of sin, 
Instead of terror's sword and flame, 

Shall love de«(-;ind — for love can win 
Far more than terror can reclaim 



And they shall turn their wandering feet, 
By grace redeemed, by love controlled, 

Till all at last in Edeu meet. 
One happy, universal fold. 

All the ends of the world shall remem- 
ber and turn unto the Lord, and all the 
kindreds of the nations siiall worship be- 
fore thee : 

For the kingdom is the Lord's and he is thf 
Governor among the nations. 

Send forth ihy light and thy truth, O 
Lord ; let them lead us and bring us to 
thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles, even 
unto God our exceedingjoy. 

Tl'ou wilt show us the path, of life : in thy 
presence is fulness of joy : at thy right hand 
there are pleasures for evermore. 

How amiable are thy tabernajles, O 
Lord of Hosts ! My soul longeth, yea. 
even fain eth for the courts of the Lord: 

My heart and my flesh crieth out for the liv- 
ing God, 

As the sparrow findeth a house, and the 
swallow a nest for herself where she may 
hide her young, so let me dwell at thine 
altars. O Lord of Hosts, my King and my 
God. 

Blessed are they -who divell in thy house : they 
will be still praising thee. 

A day in thy courts is better than a 
thousand elsewhere : I had raiher be a 
door-keeper in the house ot my God than 
to dwell in tlie tents of ungodliness. 

O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that 
iriisteth in thee. 

Thy perfection is higher than heaven : 
what can we do to celebrate tliy praise ? 
It is deeper than hell : what can we know 
of thy fatliomless love ? 

We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee 
to be the Lord. 

All the earth doth worship thee, the 
Father everlasting. To thee ail angels cry 
aloud, the heavens and all the powers 
tlierein. To thee, cherubim and seraphim 
continually do cry. 

Holy, holy, holy Lord of Sabatth I heaven 
and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory ! 

The illustrious procession of the patri- 
archs praise thee : 

The jubilant assembly of the prophets 
praise thee : 

The glorious company of the apostles 
praise thee : 

The noble army of martyrs praise thee : 

The Holy ('hurcli throughout all the 
world doih acknowledge thee, the Father 
of an infinite majesty : 

Also thy well-beloved and consecrated Son 
and. the Holy Ghost the Comforter. 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



135 



O God, the King of Glory, help thy ser- 
vants whom thou hast redeemed by the 
hand of thy mighty power : 

Make them to be numbered with thy saints in 
glory everlasting. 

Lord, save thy people and bless thy 
heritage : govern and lift them up for- 
ever. 

Day by day we manifest thee ; and we worship 
thy name ever ; world without end. 

Vouchsafe, Lord, to keep us evermore 
without sin. All our trust is in thee. 

Lord, in thee have I trusted : Let me nev- 
er be confounded. 

It is nothing wonderful that the occa- 
sion should have special attractions for me. 
After the final visit of Mui -ay to Good- 
luck (it was I believe in 1790) no Unive;- 
salist clergyman had been there until my 
first visit in 1832— being accompanied by 
Richard Norton and James Ely, of Hights- 
town. I was again there, accompanied by 
several friends, in May 1833 — at which 
date we erected a plain headstone at the 
grave of Potter, and engaged Benjamin 
Stout (then owner of the Potter farm) to 
erect a paling fenc3. This was removed a 
few weeks since, and a beautiful and sub- 
stantial iron one substituted, by an organ- 
ization known as theGoodluok Association. 
This Association also recently bought an 
acre of wooded ground adjacent to the 
meeting house as a sort of perpetual me- 
morial. 

We have no present thought of estab- 
lishing a worshiping assembly in that vi- 
cinity, and the courteous treatment re- 
ceived from all the neighbors, and fro.n 
the Rev. Mr. Johnson, Methodist minister 
in charge, gives us assurance that the door 
of the old meeting house will not be closed 
against us for an occasional service in 
years to come. 

Truly yours, Abel C. Thomas. 

Philadelphia, Sept. 30, 1770. 



WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CAPT 
BUDDY'S MURDER? 



Monmouth Refugees in New York and 
Board of Associated Loyalists' action. — 
Captain Richard Lippencott's Trial, &c. 
Captain Joshua Huddy, Daniel Ran- 
dolph, Esq., and Jacob Fleming, it may be 
remembered, were made prisoners by the 
British, at Toms River, March 24th, 1782. 
While they were in the custody of the 
British at New York, the Americans on 



the 30th of the same month, captured 
Philip White, Aaron White and other ref- 
ugees as elsewhere described, and also cap- 
tured at or about the same time Captain 
Clayton Tilton. Aaron White, Tilton and 
pi'obably the others, except Phil White 
killed in attempting to escape, were taken 
to Freehold and lodged in the jail. Til- 
ton and Aaron White were subsequently 
exchanged for Randolph and Fleming, be- 
fore which it will be seen, by the follow- 
ing extracts, that while the Board of Asso- 
ciated Loyalists,* in their official capacity 
ordered Huddy to be delivered to the cus- 
tody of Lippencott for the ostensible pur- 
pose of having him exchanged for Tilton, 
yet that this was only a pretext ; that the 
real object was to have him executed and 
that without any form of trial. The fol- 
lowing is a copy of the order on the com- 
missary of prisoners. 

New York, April 8th, 1782. 

Sir : Deliver to Captain Richard Lip- 
pencott the three following prisoners : — 
Lieutenant Joshua Huddy. Daniel Ran- 
dolph, and Jacob Fleming to take them 
to the Hook [Sandy Hook) to procure the 
exchange of Captain Clayton Tilton and 
two other associated loyalists. 

By order of the board of directors of as- 
sociated loyalists. 

S. S. Blowers, Secretary. 
Mr. Commissary Challoner. 

On the trial of Lippencott, Walter Chal- 
loner the commissary of business testified 
in substance as follows : 

" He never knew anything of Joshua 
Iluddy's being to be delivered to Lippen- 
cott, till Lippencott brought the order. — 
In going from deponent's house to the pro- 
vost with Lippencott, he told deponent 
that the three prisoners, whom that order 
concerned, were intended to be exchanged 
for Philip White, Captaiia Tilton and an- 
other White. In their conversation in go- 
ing to the provost, Capt. Lippencott told 
deponent that if White was murdered as 
reported, they intended to execute Hud- 
dy for him." 

It will hereafter be seen that at this 
time Lippencott knew that Phil White 
was really dead. 

The Secretary of the Board of Associated 
Loyalists, S. S. Biowers. gave his testimony 
which, as far as it goes seems to palliate 
the action of that body. His evidence refers 
to what transpired before the Board in its 
official capacity and it may be substantial- 
ly true so far as his knowledge extended 
but that it did not give all the facts relat- 



136 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



ing to the order for Huddy to be delivered 
to Lippencott will be seen by the testimo- 
ny of other witnesses. This iSeoretary, Mr. 
Blowers, stood high among the loyahsts. — 
He was* a graduate of Harvard (Jolletje. — 
After the war he went to Halifax and was 
appointed Attorney General, electedSpeak- 
er of the House of Assembly, and in 1797 
appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court. 

According to Mr. Blowers' testimony, 
Lippencott appeared before the Board on 
the 8th of April and stated that Captain 
Tilton was a prisoner at Freehold and he 
was afraid the Americans would liang him 
unless hi- could have some prisoner to hold 
for Tilton 's security ; he proposed to have 
Huddy delivered to him and also two oth- 
ers named Randolph and Fleming. He 
wished to take these three men to Sandy 
Hook and to offer Huildy for Tilton, and 
if that offer did not answer, to give all 
three to procure his exchange ; but if the 
first offer was accepted, then to give Ran- 
dolph and Fleming for two other Loyalists. 
The order was thereupon given him as the 
Co.araissary of prisoners for Huddy, Ran- 
dolph and Fleming. The next day, April 
9th, Lippencott again appeared before the 
Board and proposed to make an expedi- 
tion into the Jerseys with a view to 

Force Freehold Jail 

with a pprty of about thirty loyalists and 
rescue Clayton Tilton, or if that was found 
impracticable, to seize General Forman, 
that he might by one of these means, pro- 
cure the release of Tilton, and he request- 
ed a requisition for men, ammunition and 
provisions for the expedition. The propo- 
sal was agreed to. While the necessary or- 
ders were being made out, Lippencott took 
a paper from his pocket, and went towards 
Governor Franklin and said, "this is the 
paper we mean to take down with us." — 
This paper it would seem, was the label 
afterwards fastened to Huddy's breast 
wlien he was hung. The secretary said 
that Governor Franklin only looked at the 
pa2)er but did not read it, that Mr. Stew- 
art, another member of the Board, tried to 
read it by looking over h'ranklin's shoul- 
der and that Daniel Coxe. of N. J., also of 
the Board and its first president, hastily 
said "we have nothing to do with that pa- 
per; Captain Lippencott, keep your paper 
to yourself." 

From the evidence of Mr. Blowers and 
more particularly from that of other wit- 
nesses it is plainly evident that the mem- 



bers of the Board were acquainted with 
the nature of the contents of the paper al- 
though they did not choose to recognize 
it in their official capacity. 

Captain Thomas Crowell, a refugee from 
Middletown, testified in substance as fol- 
lows : 

" In consequence of several loyalists 
having been executed in Monmouth, de- 
ponent obtained from the commandant, 
thi'ough Governor Franklin, orders to re- 
ceive three prisoners and follow such di- 
rections as deponent might give with re- 
spect to their confinement. That it was 
proposed to have executed one of them by 
way of retaliation, the Board of Directors 
having promisfd deponent that orders 
should be given for that purpose ; but 
some dispute intervening among loyalists 
who had taken those prisoners, the order 
was not given, nor did tiie execution take 
place ; but deponent in consequence of 
the declaration made by the Board, >!ated 
December 28th, 1780, should have thought 
himself justifiable in executing one of 
those prisoners, even had he received only 
a verbal order from the Board, having nev- 
er seen any prohibition against the decla- 
ration alluded to." 

HuDor's Murder Suggested. 

Samuel Taylor, a refugee from New Jer- 
sey, probably from Shrewsbury, in his tes- 
timony said : 

" Early in April he waited on Governor 
Franklin and informed him that the Amer- 
icans had taken Captain Tilton and Philip 
White and had murdered the latter in a 
cruel manner, and requested the Governor 
to give an order for ttie delivery of Joshua 
Huddy and Randolph in order to exchange 
the latter for Tilton and execute Huddy 
in retaliation for White. The Governor 
replied that he ivouhJ give the necessary orders, 
if he thought the deponent would execute Huddy / 
to which deponent replied ' he need not 
fear that.' After the prisoners were re- 
moved to the provost, deponent waited on 
Governor Franklin who told him lie wuuld 
give the desired orders ; and as deponent 
was ordered on another service, the Gov- 
ernor asked what officer he thought should 
command the party to go out and execute 
Huddy. Deponent answered, he thought 
C.M'TAi.v Lippencott a Proper Person to 

Execute Huddy, 
and deponent believed he would under- 
take it. The Governor then told him he 
wished Captain Lippencott would call, at 
the Board room next day at 2 P. M ; in 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



187 



consequence of deponent's telling this to 
Lippencott, the latter accordingly attend- 
ed at the appointed time and place ; but 
the directors would not give Cf ptain Lip- 
pencott the order unless deponent was 
sent for by the Board ; that when he asked 
for the order to be given to Captain Lip- 
pencott, a member of the Board said he 
should have it ; that in the course of the 
conversation with Grovernor Franklin, the 
governor told hwi that they were not only to hang 
Huddy, but that if the rebels banged any 
other in retaliation for him, they (the loy- 
alists) should continue retaliating, by hang- 
ing man for man, and if necessary he 
would give up all the prisoners taken at 
Toms River for the purpose. Deponent 
said as to Governor Franklin's powers, the 
Associated Loyalists looked upon him as their 
commanding officer and felt bound to obey his or- 
ders whether verbal or ivritten ; that he consid- 
ered. F)-^iklin^s orders for executing Iduddy, law- 
ful orders, which if not obeyed would have 
been censurable by a Court Martial, and 
if the orders had been given to deponent 
he would have thought himself anstverab^e 
for disobeying them." 

Governor Franklin Wants Huddy 
Hanged. 

At this point in the trial, the prisoner, 
Captain Lippencott, asked the witness 
Taylor " Did he ever hear Governor Frank- 
lin say that they should not have Huddy 
unless they would execute him ?" To 
which Taylor replied : 

" On asking for Huddy, Governor Frank- 
lin said to deponent, 'Will you execute 
him when you take him out?' He re- 
plied he would or would not have made 
application for him ; and Governor Frank- 
lin then said 'You shall have him.' 

Another refugee from Monmouth, Mof- 
fat (Morlord?) Taylor of Shrewsbury in his 
testimony said : 

" Deponent was with Governor Frank- 
lin on ihe subject of executing Huddy, 
that Governor Franklin said Randolph 
and Fleming were to be kept as hostages 
to be exchanged for Captain Tilton and 
Aaron White and that Huddy ivas to he execu- 
ted/or Philip White, and if Huddy was not 
executed, he had be*^ter be left in jail, as 
one prisoner by the name of Smock had 
been taken out of jail to be executed but 
was not, which occurrence gave cause to 
the rebels to think the loyalists were afraid 
of them and dared not hurt them. Depo- 
nent told Governor Franklin he had no 
commission, upon which Franklin said 
that Captain Lippencott had a commission 



and told deponent to go to him and he 
dared say that Lippencott would be fond 
of the job. Deponent then went to Lip- 
pencott and toki him that Governor Frank- 
lin had appointed deponent to call on him 
and ask if he was willing to go. After that 
Lippencott went to Governor Franklin and 
deponent had nothing farther to do with 
it." 

The above witness rtfeis to a Smock 
having been taken out of jail to be execu- 
ted. Captain Barnes Smock and Lieuten- 
ant Henry Smock of Monmouth, were cap; 
tured by the British in September 1870 
the officer referred to was probably the first 
n.'imed and he may have been the ofilcer 
referred to in the evidence of Captain 
Thomas Ciowell .'dready quoted. 

The Hanging of Huddy. 

Captain Huddy, Randolph and Fleming 
were taken by Lippencott and his party 
on board a sloop on the 9th of April, and 
sailed for Sandy Hook, where they found 
the British man of war, Brittania, on board 
of which they lodged the prisoners a day 
or two after. Early on the 12th, Lippencott 
came for Huddy, and showed Captain Mor- 
ris, of the J5?7tom'a, two papers, one being 
the label which was afterwards fastened to 
Huddy 's breast. Captain Morris asked 
Lippencott what he intended to do with 
Huddy. Lippencott replied that he intend- 
ed to put the orders of the Board of Refu- 
gees in execution which was to hang Hud- 
dy. Lippencott borrowed a rope from 
Captain Morris and then proceeded on his 
infamous mission. 

Timothy Brooks, a Pennsylvania Refu- 
gee, who was one of Lippencott's party 
when Huddy was hanged, testified that 
he saw Huddy hanged and that he was ex- 
ecuted by a negro, that Lippencott shook 
hands with Huddy as he (Huddy) was 
standing on the barrel, by Huddy's re- 
quest ; that on the 9th of April he heard 
that Governor Franklin had ordered Hud- 
dy to be hanged ; the party which hanged 
Huddy consisted of twenty-three, counting 
Captain Lippencott, exclusive of the pris- 
oner. Among the number was a Mr. Tilton 
who seme said was an officer. This Tilton 
was John Tilton, a refugee from Middle- 
town, Monmouth, who testified that he 
called on Governor Franklin, before Hud- 
dy was delivered to Lippencott, and Frank- 
lin said Joshua Huddy must be executed 
or the loyalist prisoners would all be hang- 
ed ; that when the party was putting Huddy 
in irons on board the sloop, he was present 



138 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



and he asked him if he thought it good 
usage to iron him. Huddy replied " he did 
not think it was ; but as he was about to 
be exchanged in a day or two lie did not 
mind being in irons." This Til ton wit- 
nessed the hanging of Huddy and return- 
ed to the Brittania about noon and report- 
ed that " Huddy died with the firmness of 
a lion." 

GrENERAL WASHINGTON ENDORSES THE DeCIS 

ION OF Freehold Patriots. 

The Freehold patriots heard of the exe- 
cution of Huddy the day that it occurred 
and that it was done without any form or 
pretense of a trial. They at once institu- 
ted a thorough investigation of the circum- 
stances attending it, and of the pretexts 
plead in justification. The evidence pro- 
duced, published in the chapter relating 
to Phil White, his capture, attempt to es- 
cape anil manner of death, show that the 
alleged cruelties were absolute fabrications. 
General FoVman and Colonel Holmes were 
requested to wait on and present the evi- 
dence to General Washington who consid- 
ered it a matter of so much importance 
that on the 19th of Ai)ril he convened a 
board of officers to take it into considera- 
tion ; this board after mature deliberation 
decided that retaliation should be made 
by selecting an officer of equal rank unless 
Lippencott was given up. The next day 
General Washington wrote a letter to Con- 
gress informing them that he deemed the 
murder of Huddy so barbarous as to re- 
quire retaliation and trusts that his deci- 
sion will meet the approval of that body 
(which was subsequently given) ; and the 
day following (April 21st) he wrote to Sir 
Henry Clinton demanding that Lippencott 
should be given up 

Sir Henry Clinton replied to General 
Washington on the 25th of April. He re- 
fused to give uf) the perpetrator of the 
murder, but informed the American com- 
mander that he had ordered a court mariiai 
to examine the charge against Lippencott before 
his letter was received. He did not pretend 
to .justify the conduct of the loyalists and 
expressed his regret for the fate of the suf- 
ferer. 

On the trial of Lippencott, which took 
place in June, the main points at issue 
were : " Was the execution of Captain 
Huddy justifiable ;" and " Did Captain 
Lippencott execute Huddy on his own re- 
sponsibility or did he do it by orders of the 
Loyalist Board." 



Decision of the British Court Martial. 

The following is a copy of the decision 
of the Court : 

" The court having considered the evi- 
dence for and against the prisoner Cap- 
tain Richard Lippencott, together with 
what he had to offer for defence ; and it 
appearing that (although Joshua Huddy 
was executed without proper autliority) 
what the prisoner d'd in the matter was 
not the effect of malice or ill will, but pro- 
ceeded fiorp a conviction that it was his 
duty to obey the orders of the Board of 
Directors of Associated Loyalists, and his 
not doubting their having full authority 
to give such orders, the court are of opin 
ion that he, the prisoner, Captain Richard 
Lippencott is noi ^wito/ of the murder laid 
to his charge, and do therefore acquit 
him." 

This decision not only virtually admits 
that the execution of Huddy was r^urder, 
but throws the blame on the Board of As- 
sociated Loyalists at the head of which 
was Governor William Franklin. The ev 
idence we have already quoted will show 
the grounds upon which they based their 
decision. It is worthy of note that before 
the trial was concluded Governor Frank- 
lin left New York and sailed for England 
and so avoi'^'ed any investigation of his 
conduct that might have been contempla- 
ted. 

Sir Guy Carleton took command of the 
British forces in New York in May, and 
he evidently l:;oked upon the Board with 
less favor than had Clinton. In a letter 
to General Washington, immediately after 
his assuming cummand, he expressed his 
intention to preserve " the name of Eng- 
lishmen from reproach and to pursue eve- 
ry measure that might tend to prevent 
these criminal excesses in individuals." — 
He did not hesitate to condemn the many 
unauthorized acts of violence which had 
been committed, and concluded that he 
should do everything to mitigate the evils 
of war. As one proof of his sincerity he 
at once broke up the Board of Associated 
Loyalists. 

Gn the 13th of May, the lot was ordered 
by General Washington which resulte'l in 
the selection of Captain Asgill to be held 
as hostage for Lippencott. 

Lu'I'kncott's Own Defense on the Trial. 
After Lippencott was arrested and con- 
fined in the Provost jail he had frequent 
conversations with Captain William Cun- 
ningham, the Provost Marshal, about the 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



139 



execution of Huddy. Cunningham, ex- 
pecting to be called upon as a witness at 
the trial, noted down Lippencott's state- 
ments and after submitting them to Lip- 
pencott, he made deposition on the 10th 
of May as follows : 

" He heard Captain Lippencott say that 
Governor Franklin often said there was no 
way of stopping the rebels from massacre- 
ing ♦^he refugees but by retaliation, and he 
wanted one Mason to be the object. Cap- 
tain Lippencott said he would be the man 
who would cause it to be done, it the Gov- 
ernor would give him an order in writing, 
so that he might stand fair in the eyes of 
his exct^ll<*ncy the commander-in-chief. — 
Governor Franklin replied that he could 
give no written order, but would answer 
the consequences to the commander-in- 
chief, as it was the only way of putting a 
stop to the rebels hanging and murdering 
the loyal refugees. And he farther he .rd 
Captain Lippencott say that he bad been 
told some time ago, by two refugees, that, 
the honorable board would give up Gap- 
tain Huddy and two other prisoners ; and 
that Huddy should be executed for Philip 
White, and the other two should be exe- 
cuted for Captain Tilton and another for 
Aaron White (supposing Tilton and White 
had been executed by the rebels ; if not 
they were to be offered in exchange for 
them. That ( aptain Lippencott waited 
on the hou'irable board with a label that 
was intended to be fixed on Huddy's 
breast, and gave it into the hands of the 
Governor and asked him if he thought 
that vTould do, or something to that effect. 
Mr. Cox, who was present, made answer, 
and said Captain Lipp«^ncott ought to have 
kept that to himself; Captain Lippencott 
answered, he never did anything but what 
was done above board. The Governor 
read it and tlien gave it to another of the 
board to read ; and when Captain Lippen- 
cott was going, the Governor wished him 
luck or success, or words to that effect. — 
He further says Captain Lippencott seem- 
ed a little affected _when deponent gave 
him a copy of his crime, and expressed a 
seeming surprise, by saying, " ila I is this 
the way the board is going to leave me !" 
or words to that purpose. 

He further saith, before Lippeacott was 
made a prisoner, he (Lippencott) told him 
the board sent him near thre» sheets of 
paper written, the contents of which were 
to acquit the board of knowing anything 
of Huddy's death, and that he (Lippen- 
cott) should take it entirely on himself. 



and sign the paper and send it to the 
board ; which he believed he should have 
done, but deponent making him prisoner 
at the time he was copying it had hindered 
him from so doing." 

It will be noticed, that Lippencott as- 
serted that Governor Franklin promised 
him if he would execute Huddy without 
a written order that he (Gov. Franklin) 
would answer the consequences to the Bri- 
tish commander in-chief, and this asser- 
tion is substantiated by the evidence of 
others. How Franklin performed his 
promise will be seen by the following. 

Cowardly Act of the Loyalist Board. 

In the affidavit of Captain Cunningham, 
reference is made to a certain paper sent 
by the Board of Loyalists to Lippencott 
to sign ; the purport of the paper being to 
exonerate the Board from all responsi- 
bility, for the murder of Huddy, Cunning- 
ham was such an unmitigated scoundrel, 
as proven by his own confession given in 
another chapter, that but little credence 
would be attached to his affidavit but for 
the fact that it is corroborated by other 
reliable evidence. The paper referred to 
was produced before the Court which tried 
Lippencott. It was written by Mr. Alex- 
ander, one of the Board, at the office of the 
Board, at the instigation of the members. 
We give the whole of this paper, remark- 
able as showing the cowardice and duplici- 
ty of the Board and their efforts to sacri- 
fice the man they had used as a tool, to 
save themselves. It was to have been sent 
to Governor Franklin as the chief of the 
Board. 

'' Sir : — In compliance with the orders 
of the honorable board of directors, vre 
beg leave to communicate to your excel- 
lency, for their information, an account of 
the proceedings of the loyalists from Mon- 
mouth on the late expedition for the re- 
lief of Captain Clayton Tilton and two oth- 
er loyalists, then prisoners with the rebels 
in that county. 

Being frustrated m the design of bring- 
ing off Captain Tilton by force and our of 
fers For exchange rejected, we dreaded 
that he was reserved for a fate similar to 
that our associate Philip White had suffer- 
ed, who was taken at the same time with 
Captain Tiltoti, and inhumanly and wan- 
tonly murdered by the guard who were 
conveying him to Monmouth jail. This 
recent instance of cruelty, added to the 
many daring acts of the same nature' 
which have been perpetrated with impuni- 
ty by a set of vindictive rebels, well known 



140 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



by the name of the Monmouth Retaliators, 
associated and headed by one General For- 
man (whose horrid acts of cruelty have 
gained him universally the name of Black 
David,) fired our party with an indigna- 
tion only to be felt by men who for a 
series of years have beheld many of their 
friends and neighbors butchered in cold 
blood under the usurjDed form of law, and 
often without that ceremony, for no other 
crime than that of maintaining their alle- 
giance bo their government under which 
they were born, and which the rebels au 
daciously call treason against the Stat-s. — 
We thought it high time to convince the 
rebels we would no longer tamely submit 
to such glaring acts of barbarity ; and 
though we lament the necessity to which 
we have been driven, to begin a retalia- 
tion of intolerable cruelties long contin- 
ued and often repeated, yet we are con- 
vinced that we could not have saved the 
life of Captain Tilton by any other means. 
"We therefore pitched upon Joshua Huddy 
as a proper subject for retaliation, becauso 
he was not only well known to have been 
a very active and cruel persecutor of our 
friends, but h;id not been ashamed to bonst 
of his having been instrumental in hang- 
ing Stephen Edwards, a worthy lo^. alist, 
and the first of our brethren who fell a 
maityr to republican fury in Monmouth 
County. Huddy was the man who tied 
the knot and put the rope about the neck 
of that inoffensive sufferer. This fact will 
appear by two affidavits which we have 
the honor to enclose. 

It IS true in this instance we have acted 
without the orders or knowledge of the 
honorable board ; but we hope, when they 
are pleased to take into consideration the 
motives which induced us to take this 
step, and that Huddy was executed in the 
county where so many acts of cruelty have 
been committed on liefugees, they will 
not think our conduct reprehensible, more 
especially when your excellency peruses 
the Tollowing state of facts. [The facts al- 
luded to are not found in the originals.) Many 
of the above facts are ascertained by affl 
davits ; and such as are not are too notor- 
ious to be denied even by General Forman 
himself, the most persecuting rebel in the 
country. By a strange fatality, the loyal 
ists are the only people that have been 
treated as rebels, during this unhappy 
war ; and we are constrained by our suffer- 
ings to declare that no efforts have been 
made by the Government, under whose 
protection we wish to live, to save our 



brethren from ignominious deaths. It is 
our fixed determination, however repug- 
nant to our feelings (having on all occa- 
sions treated our prisoners with tender- 
ness, and often indulge them with paroles 
which they have frequently violated) that 
should the rebels, to answer their malig- 
nant purposes, continue to punish the loy- 
alists, under their usual distinction of pris- 
oners of state from prisoners of war, they 
shall feel a. severe retaliation in every m- 
stance — the just vengeance due to such 
enormities. Blood shall flow for blood, or 
the loyalists will perish in the attempt. 

We have the honor to be on behalf of 
the associated loyalists of Monmouth 
County, your excellency's most obedient 
servants." 

This paper prepared by the Board for 
Lippencott to sign, it will te seen by ref- 
erence to the evidenceof different witness- 
es already quoted, was false in every es- 
sential particular. While it is true that 
the written order to get Huddy out of the 
Provost jail, into the charge of Lijjpencott 
makes the preteit that it was to have him 
exchanged for Tilton, yet the real object 
as expressed by verbal orders of Governor 
Franklin was to have him taken within 
the limits of Monmoutli and there execu- 
ted. They were not frustrated in any at- 
tempt to bring off' Tilton by force, for if 
any such attempt had been made it would 
have been shown on the trial, nor whs any 
attempt to have him exchanged mention- 
ed. It was not Lippencott who suggest*>d 
the hiinging of Huddy — he was only a tool, 
perhaps too willing, of Governor Franklin 
and his associates. There was no reason 
to fear tliat " Tilton was reserved for a 
fate similar to Phil White's;" no evidence 
was produced to show that the Monmouth 
patriots considered him other than a pris- 
oner of war captured under usual circum- 
stances and to be held for exchange. Gen- 
eral Forman, or Black David as they j)re- 
ferred calling him, and his associates never 
executed a refugee unless under circum- 
stances justifiable by the rules of warfare, 
as has already been shown in other chap- 
ters. Tiie Pine Robbers, Fagan, Fenton, 
i5urke and others of that class met their 
fate for burglary, murder and other crimes, 
for committing what Sir Guy Carleton 
called "unauthorized acts of violence" 
and wha' he pointedly condemned. Ste- 
phen Edwards came into the American 
lines as a spy ; treasonable papers were 
found in his i:)08session ; so positive was 
the proof against him that one of the 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



141 



warmest friends of his family, who would 
have been glad of any pretext to save him, 
was compelled to vote for his condemna- 
tion. 

l^ut the most noticeable falsehood which 
the Board asked Lippencott to sign was 
that he "had acted without the knowledge 
or consent of the Board I" 

On this pohit, in addition to the evi- 
dence already quoted, we copy the testi- 
mony of Henry Steptiensen, a surgeon in 
the British legion, relating a conversation 
between hi'msell' and two membeis of ihe 
Board that took place at the office of Riv- 
ingtoti's B<^yal Gazette^ the Toiy paper at 
New York. Mr. Stephenson was asked : 

" Did he recollect a conversation be- 
tween himself and several other gentle 
men. at Mr Rivington's (soon Jifler the 
ciinfinernent of the }. risoner for the crime 
now charged against him) respeciing a pa- 
per that was sent to the prisoner by some 
one of the honorable board of directors, to 
be signed by the prisoner, assigning rea 
suns for the execution of the said Joshua 
Buddy; and was deponent then censur- 
ing a part of said paper whicli expressed 
the execution of Buddy to be without the 
knowledge of the Board ? During the con- 
versation, did Messrs. Stewart and Alex- 
ander, both members of the Board, come 
into Mr. Rivington's and what further cou- 
veisation passed on the sulgect?" 

Suigeon Stephenson deposed in answer 
as follows : 

" Yes, he recollects a conversation. He 
was at Mr. Rivingt.jn's one evening, some 
little time after the prisoner wa.-i confined 
in the piovo«t, and wms mentioning to 
some gentlemen that a report had pre- 
vailed in town that tht^ board of directors 
had drawn up an instrument in writing, 
which they wi.-hed Captain Lippencott to 
sign, purporting that Captain Buddy was 
executed without tneif knowledge or con- 
sent. Just at the time they were talking 
on the subject Mr. Alexander and Mr. 
Stewart, two of the board, came in ; and 
after mentioning the above report, depo- 
nent put the following question to them : 
' First, Did you gentlemen send such an 
instrument in writing to Captain Lippen- 
cott to sign or not? They replied, there 
had been a paper sent to him but thai 
Cajjtain Lippencott might alter it as he 
thought proper, or words to that effect. — 
Mr. Alexander particularly mentioned 
that he had objected to the words " with- 
out their knowledge or consent," being in- 



serted. The second question was * Though 
Huddy was executed, was it not done by 
your knowledge and consent or approba- 
tion.' They assented and said it was." 

The office of Rivington's Royal Gttzetie 
was quite a noted resort for British officers 
and it is evidei.t they criiicised pretty free- 
ly the action of the Board. Both Alexan- 
der and Stewart had personal knowledge 
of the falsity of the statement " without 
knowledge or consent of the board," as 
when, on the 8th of April, Lippencott ap- 
peared before the Board in response to 
(jov. Franklin's request to contjent to take 
conamand of a party to hnng Huddy, both 
of these men were present and fully talked 
over the matter. Mr. Al-xander objected 
to putting in the words but was overruled 
by the other members, who quieted his 
scruples by telling him Lippencott could 
alter it if he chose. They well knew the 
fearful predicament into whicli they had 
got Lippencott. 

This paper was gotten up by the Board 
to shield themselves, because, to their sur- 
lirise, no sooner was the news of Huddy 's 
execution heard in New York than the 
regular British officers generally de- 
nounced it as •' a reproach to the name of 
Englishmen," and a desire was expressed 
to have an investigation to find out the 
real author or authors to hold responsible. 
Alarmed at the threatening aspect of af- 
fairs they drew up this paper to be signed 
by Lippencott. It would seem as though 
they thought as Lippencott found iiis ac- 
tion so severely denounced by (he regular 
British and that they were arrayed again,st 
him, that he would want to retain the ac- 
tive friendship of the Board to stand be- 
tween him and the regular British author- 
ities, and that to secure ttieir active servi- 
ces in his behalf he would probably con- 
sent to sign this paper. And their calcu- 
lation pioved c rrect, for he had com- 
menced copying it off when he was arrest- 
ed. The truth then flashed upon him 
that the Board to save themselves wanted 
to sacrifice him, and then he determined 
to let matters take their course and simply 
look out for himself, and, as he expressed 
i;," to have the saddle put on the right 
h'Tse." 

An idea of the feeling among the regu- 
lar British officers in regard to Huddy 's 
death may be inferred from the testimony 
of Surgeon Stephenson, but it was most 
emphatically shown by the action of Sir 
Henry Clinton himself, who was so indig- 
nant at the barbarous murder of Huddy 



142 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



that he had ordered Lippencott's trial by 
Court Martial before he received General 
Washington's letter demanding his surren- 
der. Tiiere is good reason to believe that 
Sir Henry thought the reallv guilty party 
was the Board of Associated Loyalists, and 
especially its head, Governor Franklin, 
who so cowardly fled to England leaving 
both Lippencott and Asgill to their fates ; 
and Clinton's successor. Sir Guy Carleton, 
was so satisfied of the disgraceful conduct 
of the Board that he broke it up 

As before stated, the decorum of the 
court martial virtually threw the blame of 
Buddy's murder on Governor Franklin 
and his associates, and this decision was 
subsequently endorsed by competent Amer- 
ican authority, as will be seen by the fal- 
lowing extract from a report made to Con- 
gress in 1837 by a select committee of that 
body which had thoioughly investigated 
the wiiole subject : 

*' The immediate agent in (his deed of 
blood was Richard Lippencott, a native of 
New -Jersey and then a captain in the 
British service. He was the instrument of 
a board of associated loyalists in New 
York, at the head of which was William 
Franklin, once Royal governor of New 
Jersey. The members of this body, after 
the murder bad taken place, endeavored 
for a time to deny that they had directed 
it; but the evidence adduced on the trial 
of the perpetrator, as well as subsequent 
publications of the, loyalists themselves, 
abundantly prove that, without the cour- 
age to act themselves, they had the base 
nes^ to authorize the deed to be commit- 
ced, and the meanness to attempt the con- 
cealment of their privity to its perpetra- 
tion." 



A BOY TRIED FOR MURDER. 



The State against Aaron, a Slave of Levi 
Solomon's. 

The defendant, Aaron, a black boy about 
eleven years of age, was indicted in the 
Court of Oypr and Terminer of Monmouth 
in October, 1817, for the murder of Ste- 
phen Connelly, a child little more than two 
years old. The indictment in the usual 
form charged the prisoner with the mur- 
der on the 26th of August, 1817, by throw- 
ing the child into a well. It appeared in 
evidence that the prisoner was born in 
July, 1806, was of ordinary size and in the 
opinion of some witnesses, possessed com- 



mon capacity and intelligence; by the tes- 
timony of others he was more cunning 
and smarter in his play than usual for boys 
of his age. Stephen Connelly was a stout 
healthy child, and on the 26th of August, 
in the after part of the day, was found in 
a well about 18 or 19 feet deep, having a 
curb two and a half feet high, so that he 
could reach the top with his hands, and it 
was in such a state that all the witnesses 
thought it impossible for hitn to get over 
it. The well was in a cornfield and or- 
chard about one hundred rods from two 
public roads and the sam*^ distance from 
the house in which Stephen lived. The 
corn was so high and thick that a i>erson 
at the well could not be seen except by 
looking along the rows. It was in the 
nyighborhood of a numlj^r of houses. 

Stephen was sfen playing in the road 
with I he prisoner a short time before he 
was missed by the family ; and when they 
were searching for him tiie pris iner was 
up in a cl.erry tree. Being asked if he iiad 
seen him, he said, '• yes, he i« gone up 
the road;" being told to come down fud 
help look for him, he looked along the 
road and called aloud three or four times 
but did not get down. After the body whs 
found and taken out of the well, he came 
up and seeing it lying there he said, "so 
you've found Stephen." Theie was yet 
nothing in his manner whicti excited at- 
tention or suspicion. That night he went 
to bed earlier than usual, and without his 
supjier. The next morning he told a \ oun^' 
lad, an apprentice to his master that he 
saw Stephen fall into the well ; and that 
he was ten or twelve paces off; thai he 
went up and sav Stephen splash the water 
and then went to pick apples wiiich iiis 
master had directed him to do. Being 
a'ked why he did not tell it he gave no 
answer. On his trial (May, 1818) the pric- 
oner was defended by Garret D. Wall, L. 
H. Stockton and Joseph W. Scott. For 
the state appeared R. Stockton, jr.. Depu- 
ty Attorney General and R. Stockton. 

His counsel objected to any evidence of 
his confessions as improper and incompe- 
tent, he being under the age of twelve 
years. After argumen* the court admit- 
ted the confessions in evidence. It then 
appeared that at the coroner'.* inquest the 
prisoner was summoned; at first he ap- 
peared terrified Imt soon became composed. 
He then repeated the story he had told 
before, adding that Stephen climbed over 
the curb and fell in ; and that he did not 
tell anybody for fear they would think he 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



143 



did it. He was very closely pressed by the 
jury with questions as to his own guilt and 
told that he had better tell the whole 
truth to them. He steadily denied doing 
the act. After examining him some time, 
the jury went to the well that he might 
shew them how Stephen got over. He 
shewed them. His master and one of the 
jurors then took him aside and asked him 
about it. He then told them he had done 
it; that Stephen went to the well and put 
his hands on the curb and he took hold of 
his legs and threw him over ; that he 
gasped and caught his breath and made 
the water splash as he fell ; and that he 
(prisoner) being frightened, ran away to 
picking apples ; that he denied it before 
because he was afraid they would send 
him to jail. He repeated the same thing 
to the whole jury. He was urged and 
questioned closely but all the witnesses 
denied that either promises or threats or 
improper contrivnnces were used to induce 
him to make the confession, but he was 
frequently and constantly told to tell the 
truth and that would be best for him. He 
seemed to understand what he was about 
and to understand his answers. 

He continued for three or four weeks 
to make the same confession to the 
gaoler and many other persons ; and 
then he began to deny the fact and con- 
tinued the denial until the time of trial. — 
When he Brst denied, the gaolor asked 
him why he had owned it before; he said 
that one of the jurymen told him the dev- 
il would get him if he denied it, but if 
he confessed it he would not be sent to 
jail. This was explicitly denied by the ju- 
ror referred to ; he was further asked who 
had been to see him, and he replied his 
master but that he did not tell him to 
deny it. 

At the time of his first confession, and 
frequently afterwards, he gave as a rea-^on 
for the act that he did it to spite the fath- 
er of Stephen because he had driven him 
out of the shop and threatened to whip 
him ; at other times he said he said he had 
no reason for it. 

The case was ably argued and the court 
gave a minute charge to the jury who 
found the prisoner guilty. 

A motion was th^n made for a new trial, 
it being desired by the court that the 
opening of the Supreme Court of N. J., at 
bar upon several legal questions (given in 
Ist Southard reports) might be known. — 
The trial took place in May, 1818. In Sep- 
tember following it was taken up by the 



Supreme Court and its decision on the va- 
rious points was made by Chief Justice 
Kirkpatrick. In regard to the liability of 
minors under fourteen years of age to 
punishment, the Chief Justice quoted va- 
rious authorities from which the Court de- 
cided that upon this naked confession of 
Aaron's he could not be cjnvicted of a 
capital offence — "that the confession is a 
simple, naked confession, disclosing no 
fact, pregnant with no circumstances to 
give it authority or in any way to corrobo- 
rate it. It did not even lead to the dis- 
covery of the body of tlie deceased, for it 
was found before ; it opens no proof of 
malice or hatred or ill will against the 
child but rather to the contrary; it is a 
mere naked confession of an infant under 
the age of eleven years obtained by some 
degree of pressure, at least, after a firm 
denirtl and as such (I speak with great de- 
ference to the learning of the Court which 
tried the cause) I should incline to think 
it ought not to have been admitted as evi- 
dence ; and if admitted that it ought not 
to have been the ground of conviction." 

A new trial was granted at which the 
prisoner was discharged ; and we have been 
told by an old gentleman, a regular attend 
ant of the Freehold Courts in that day, 
that it WHS believed the boy was afterwards 
sold as a slave in the West Indies, 



THE INLETS OF OLD MONMOUTH 



Old Cranberry Inlet. 

A century ago Cranberry Inlet, nearly 
opposite Toms River, was one of the best 
inlets on the Jersey coast. The question 
as to the exact year when it was opened 
was brought before one of our courts a few, 
years ago in a suit involving title to land 
in the vicinity, but no decisive information 
was elicited upon the trial. It is probable, 
however, that it broke through about 
1750. It is laid down on Lewis Evans's map, 
1755, and Jeffrey's (English) map, same 
year, and on the latter and other maps it 
is called New Inlet. On Jeffrey's map 
Toms River is called Goose Creek, and Bar- 
negat Bay is called Flat Bay Sound. Cran- 
berry Inlet closed about the year 1812, 
though for several years previous it had 
commenced filling up, gradually shoaling 
more and more each year until it was fi- 
nally closed up. During the Revolution- 
ary war it was a place of considerable im- 
portance as it afforded conveniences to 



144 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



our privateers on the lookout for Briti3h 
vessels bound in and out of New York. — 
Though we have no exact account of the 
depth of water on the bar, yet in its best 
days it must have been equal to the best 
inlets nov on our coast, as we find that 
loaded, square-rigged vessels occasionally 
entered it. David Mapes, the much es- 
tet^m^r? and noted colored Quaker of Tuck- 
erton, when a boy, resided in this vicinity, 
and was empli>yed by Solomon Wardell 
to tend cattle on the beach when the inlet 
broke through. He slept in a cabin and 
one morning on awakening was surprised 
to see that the sea had broUon across the 
beach during the night. 

(In a pr(^vious article relating to Capt, 
Adam Hyler, bv the accidentallv omission 
of one line in the copy it was made to ap- 
pear that Cranberry Inlet opened into 
Raritan Bay. Though most of our reade''^ 
wculd infer it was from a tyi)ographical 
error yet it reminded us that a brief no- 
tice of this Inlet, so frequently referred to 
in Revolutionary limes, but now among 
the things of the past, should be given to 
explain events related in previous chap 
ters referring to ii.) 

Attempts to Open New Inlets. 

The closing of Cranberry Inlet caused 
great inconvenience to persons along Bar- 
iiegat Bay engaged in the coasting trade 
as it compelled vessels from the upper 
part of the bay to sail several miles out of 
their way to Barnegat Inlet to get to sea. 
.^ibout the )ear 1821 an attempt to open 
a new inlet near the head ot the bay was 
made by a man named Michael Urtley. — 
He worked at it off and on for several 
years and spent considerable money in the 
undertaking ; at length, one day a large 
company of men volunteered to aid him 
in completing the enterprise. In the 
evening after finishing it, Mr. Oi tley and 
his friends had quite a merry time in cel- 
ebrating the completion ol' the work. But 
great was their disappointment the follow- 
ing morning to find that the running of the 
tide which they had supposed would work 
the inlet deeper, had on the contrary 
raised a bulkhead of sand wufficiently large 
to close it up, and the result was the inlet 
was closed much more expeditiously than 
it was opened. 

Many supposed that if an effort was 
made to open an inlet farther down the 
bay in the vicinity of old Cranberry, it 
would prove more successful. Acting up- 
on this supposition, another eftbrt was 



made to open on© about opposite Toms 
River. The work was completed July 4th, 
1847, by some two or three hundred men 
under the direction of Anthony Ivins, jr. 
In this undertaking, care was taken to let 
in the water when it was high tide in the 
bay and low water outside ; but this enter- 
prise also proved a failure as it filled up 
about as soon as Urtley's. 
?'")',' Shrewsbury lifLiiTi' 
Shrewsbury inlet was open ih 1778; it 
closed again about 1800 ; again opened 
about 1830 ; and again closed about 1847. 
Just before the closing of the inlet at this 
time, the writer of this was engaged in the 
coasting trade and one time in sailing 
down the beach noticed a little steamer, 
called the Cricket, from New York, wrecked 
on tlie bar. This wreck seemed to hasten 
the closing of the inlet by gathering tli,e 
sand around it as it washed in and out. 
Barnegat Inlet. 
This inlet has always been open from 
our earliest accounts. It was first noticed 
by a Dutch navigator, probably Capt. Mey 
in the celebrated little yacht Restless in 
1614, who on account of its dangerous bai- 
Called it '' Baiendegal," which mean« 
l)re«kers inlet or an inlet with breakers. — 
Ti.e character of the inlet has ^dways been 
the same as at present except during the 
few years when Cranberry was open when 
it was much shoaler than before or since. 
It has shifted up and down ihe beach two 
or three miles and is still shifting and 
changing. A few yes^rs ago it washed down 
tlie old lighthouse built in 1834 and now 
exhibits a decided inclination to wash 
down the new one. 



Long Branch in 1819. — Bathers at Fault. 
The company at thi.^ salubrious retreat 
is represented to be very numerous and 
respectable this season. The New York 
Advocate says ttiere is a kind of military or 
naval regulation there which strangers of- 
ten contravene from ignorance; that is 
when the stipulated time for ladies bath- 
ing arrives, a white flag is hoisted upon 
the bank, when' it is high treason for a 
gentlemen to b<" seen ther« ; and when the 
established lime for gentlemen arrives, the 
red fliag is run up vyhich is sometimes done 
by mistake and produces rather ludicrous 
misunderstandings A wag lately hoisted 
both flags together wnich cieated some 
awful squinting and no little confusion. — 
(Niles' Register, 1819. Sup., p. 159.) 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



145 



Townships in Monmouth- 
tablished, 



-Wben Es- 



When the county of Monmouth was es- 
tablished in 1683 it was divided into two 
townships, Middletown and Shrewsbury. 
Stafford wa« established in 1749. Upper 
Freehold, Freehold and Dover were de- 
fined by an act passed June 25, 1767, to 
take effect in March of the following year. 
Howell was established in 1801 and Mill- 
stone in 1844; Jackson, now in Ocean 
county in 1844 ; Plumsted, now in Ocean, 
in 1845, and Union, now also in Ocean, in 
1847; Atlantic, in 1847; Raritan, Marl- 
boro and Manalapan in 1848; Ocean, 1849; 
Wall, 1851 ; Holmdel and Matavan in 
1857. 

The First Temperance Socieiy in the U. S. 
Old Monmouth has the honor of organ- 
izing the first Temperance Society in the 
country, which was established at Allen- 
town in 1805 and called " The Sober So 
cietv," and was composed of fifty-eifiht 
members. (Newark Daili/ Adv. and Hist. 
Rcc. 1859). 

A Valuable Monmouth Dog. 

In the Journal of a Quaker named 
James Craft, published in Historical Rec- 
ord, Oct., 1851, it is said : 

" 1780, 2nd mo. 20th : Money very plen 
ty. £300 given for a dog in Monmouth.'' 



COL. JONATHAN FORMAN AND 
DAtJGHTER. 



The following is from the Utica N. Y. 
Observer, 1859. 

*' Died, at her residence in Utica, Sept. 
16th, 1859, Mrs. Mary Ledyard Seymour, 
wife of the late Hon. Henry Seymour. She 
was the daughter of Col Jonathan Forman. 
and was born at Monmouth, New Jer.sey, 
Feb. 18th, 1785. Her father at the ag'^ of 
19, left Princeton College tojoin the Amer 
ican army. He entered it as a lieutenant, 
and served during the war, rising to tlie 
rank of colonel. The mother of Mr-. Sey- 
mour was a niece of Col. Ledyard who was 
in command of Fort Griswold, opposite 
New London, Conn., a't the time of its 
capture by the British. She aided in tak 
ing care of the wounded of that massacre, 
by which nineteen of her relatives per 
ished. When Mrs. Seymour was about 
twelve years old she removed to Cazeno 
vid, in Madison county, at that time a 
"frontier settlement." There was then 
no carriage road west of Whitestown, and 



in many places they were obliged to use 
axes to make their way in that direction. 
It is said that the carriage of Col. Forman 
was the first conveyance of the kind that 

passed beyond the site of Whitestown. 

He drove to Chittenango and the family 
went thence to Cazenovia on horseback. — 
Her parents died many years ago, but her 
uncle, Major Samuel S. Forman, of Syra- 
cuse, still lives, in his 96th year. Miss For- 
man was married to Mr Seymour at Caze- 
novia on the 1st of January, 1807. Mr. 
Seymour was then a merchant in the town 
of Pompey, Onondago County. He con- 
tinued in business there, exercising a wide 
and beneficial influence in that county un- 
til 1819, when he removed "vith his family 
to Utica. His subsequent honorable and 
useful career is known to the people of 
the State. He died in August, 1837, at his 
dwelling in Whitesboro street, in this 
city, where Mrs. Seymour has ever since 
resided." 

Mrs. Seymour above mentioned, a na- 
tive of Monmouth, was the mother of Gov. 
Horatio Seymour, of JN. Y., and a niece ol 
Philip Freneau, the poet of the Revolu- 
tion. Col. Ledyard above referred to, was 
brutally murdered by a renegade New Jer- 
sey refugee, named Bromfield. After the 
Americans nad surrendered the fort, 
Bromfield asked who commanded it. The 
brave Ledyard replied, " I did but you do 
now," and handed his sword to Bromfield. 
The villain took it and immediately 
stabbed Ledyard to the heart. 

About the time Col. Forman left for 
New York, many families of old Mon- 
mouth emigrated to the western part of 
that state to what they then termed " the 
Genesee country." 



THE TILTON FAMILY. 



Among the twelve original patentees of 
old Monmouth is found the name of John 
Tilton, and members of this family were 
among the first English settlers who loca- 
ted here. The earliest mention we have 
found of the Tilton family is in the Lynn, 
Mass., records which speak of John Tilton 
and William Tilton as'being therein 1640. 
About the time of their arrival the Puri- 
tans of New England were much exercised 
by the advent am®ng them of the Bap- 
tists and strong efforts were made by the 
Puritans to get rid of them. At this time 
in Lynn the most noted, influential per- 
son among the Baptists was Lady Debo- 
rah Moodie, afterwards long and favorably 



146 



OLD TIMKS IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



known among the original settlers of Long 
Island. Among nthers who were inclined 
to adhere to the Baptists with Lady Moo- 
die was Mrs. Tilton, as will be seen by the 
following extract from the Lynn records 
of the date of December 12th, 1642. which 
we give literally with its quaint wording 
and peculiar orthography : 

The Lady Deborah Moodie, Mrs. King, 
and the wife of John Tilton were present- 
ed for hooldinge that liie baptising of in- 
fants was noe ordinance of God.'' 

The proceedings against them resulted 
in their leaving Lynn, and the next year, 
(1643,) we find mention of Lady Moodie, 
the Tiltons, William Goulding, Samuel 
Spicer, and others at Graveseiid, Long Is- 
land, founding the settlement from which 
afterwards came many persons to Old 
Monmouth. For a long time, John Til 
ton was a prominent man at Gravesend, 
enjoying the respect of the English and 
the confidence ot the Dutch authorities at 
New York or New Amsterdam as it was 
then called, and holding official positions 
until the appearance, in 1657, of the Quak- 
ers among the Gravesend settlers. No 
sooner did the Quakers begin to promul- 
gate their views than the Dutch authori- 
ties issued severe edicts against ihem and 
all who harbored " those abominable im- 
postors, runaways and strolling people 
called Quakers." The following year John 
Tilton was fined £12 Flemish money for 
harboring a Quaker woman. From that 
time forward both Tilton and his wife 
seem t > have strongly sympathized with 
the persecuted sect and soon cast their lot 
among them altogether, whicli greatly ex- 
cited the ire of the Dutch and especially 
of old Governor Peter Stuyvef^ant. On the 
5th of October, 1662, John T\\Um and 
Mary his wife were summoned before the 
Governor and his council, at New Amster- 
dam, (New York,) charged with having 
entertained Quakers and frequenting their 
conventicles. Tiiey we*-e condemned and 
ordered to leave the province before the 
20th of November following, under pain 
of corporal punishment. It is supposed 
that through the efforts of Lady Moodie, 
who had great influence with Governor 
Stuyvesant, that the sentence was either 
reversed or changed to the payment of a 
fine. The following derived from the rec- 
ord of their trial is a curiosity in these 
days of religious toleration, especially to 
Jerseymen whose state has the proud dis- 

nction of never having allowed religious 



persecution within its borders. From the 
record it appears that 

" Goody Tilton, (Mrs. Tilton,) was not 
so much condemned for assisting at con- 
venticles as for having, like a sorceress^ gone 
from door to door to lure and seduce the people, 
yea even young girls, to join the Quakers^ 

On the 19lh of September, 1662, John 
Tilton was fined, as the record asiys, for per- 
mitting Quakers to quake at his house at 
Gravesend. Many other persons were 
prosecuted at this time by the Dutch on 
similar charges, among whom were the 
Bownes, Spicers, Townsends. Holmesesand 
others, ancestors of numerous Jersey fam 
ilies of these names. Some of these fami- 
lies had been persecuted by the Puritans 
of New England, to escape which they 
came to Long Island. Here, being again 
persecuted by the Dutch, they seem to 
have determined to seek some place where 
they could worship God as they pleased. — 
The lands in Monmouth county impressed 
them so favorably that the following year 
(1663) they made large purchases of the 
Indians, which greatly excited the indig- 
nation of the Dutch at New Amsterdam, 
who laid claim to the land asserting that 
they had bought thy best of it of the In- 
dians ten or twelve years before. The de- 
tails of the controversy which ensued and 
the arguments advanced by both sides are 
too lengthy to introduce in this place. — 
Suffice it to say that some of the difficul- 
ties were ended by the conquest of the 
Dutch by the English the following year. 
In 1665 John Tilton and eleven associates 
obtained from Gov. Richard Nicholls the 
celebrated document known as " the Mon- 
mouth Patent," which has been published 
in another chapter, which guaranteed lib- 
erty of conscience to all settlers. 

After the conquest of the Dutch by the 
English, though we have met with no pos- 
itive information on the point, yet we are 
inclined to believe that John*Tilion found, 
by the change, that he could remain at 
Long Island without molestation, he pre- 
ferred to end his days there and leave his 
share in his Monmouth purchases to his 
children. He died at Gravesend, L. I., in 
1688; his wife died a few years before, in 
1683. His will dated 15th of 7th month 
1687 was recorded at Brooklyn, L. L, 
April 3d, 1G88, in "Book of Records Vol. 1, 
page 108. This will shows he left two sons 
named John and Thomas, and daughters 
named Sarah, who married John Painter, 

Abigail who married Scott, Esther, 

who married Samuel Spicer, and Mary, 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



147 



who married Carman. In his will he 

left a lot of land at Graveaend to his exe- 
cutors, to be used as a graveyard for them 
and their successors, and '* for all friends 
of the everlasting truth of the Gospel as 
occasion serves, fwrever, to bury there dead 
therein." 



OLD MONMOUTH THih PIONEER OF 
RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 



Every citizen of old Monmouth has just 
cause to be proud of the fact that the orig- 
inal patentees were among the first in 
America to iiuarantee toleration to all set- 
tlers in religious matters. In Rhode Is- 
land while Roger Williams advocated '* a 
free, full and absolute liberty of con- 
science " it is charged that Roman Catho- 
lics were excepted in the charter of 1663. 
The much vaunted toleration act of Mary- 
land limited toleration to *'all who be 
lieved in Jesus Christ." William Penn 
did not arrive in America until October, 
1682, nearly eiguteen years after the Mon- 
mouth patentees declared that every set- 
tler should have Free Liberty of Con- 
science WITHOUT ANY MOLiiSTATION OR DIS- 
TURBANCE WHATSOEVER IN THE WAY OE THEIR 
WORSHIP. 

THE ROGERINE BAPTISTS. 



A Singular Religious Socik.ty in Old 
Monmouth. 

About the year 1737 a society of Roger- 
ine Baptists, or Quaker Baptists as they 
were then called, located at Waretown, 
now in Ocean county. I' rom various no- 
tices of the history of ihis singular sect 
and how a society came to be located in 
Old Monmouth, we extract the following : 

This society was founded by John Rog 
ers, about 1674. His followers baptized by 
immersion ; the Lord's supper they admin- 
istered in the evening with its ancient ap- 
pendages. They did not believe in the 
sanctity of the Sabbath ; they believed 
that since the death of Christ all days 
were holy alike ; they used no medicines 
nor employed doctors or surgeons; would 
not say grace at meals; all prayers to be 
said mentally except when the spirit of 
prayer compelled the use of voice ; they 
said " all unscriptural parts of religious 
worship are idols," and all good christians 
should exert thexuselves against idols, &c. 
Among the idols they placed the observ- 



ance of the Sabbath, Infant baptism, &c. 
The Sabbath they called the New England 
idol and the methods they took to demol- 
ish this idol were as follows : They would 
on Sundays try to be at some manual la- 
bor near meeting houses or in the way of 
people going to and from church. They 
would take work into meeting houses, the 
women knitting, the men whittling and 
making splints for baskets, and every now 
and then contradicting the preachers. — 
"This was seeking persecution," says one 
writer, "and they received plenty of it, in- 
somuch that the New Englanders left some 
of them neither liberty, property nor 
whole skins." 

John Rogers, the founder of the sect, 
who, it is said, was as churlish and contra 
ry to all men as Diogenes, preached over 
forty years, and died in 1721. The occa- 
sion of his death was singular. The small 
pox was raging terribly in Buston and 
spread an alarm to all the country around. 
Rogers was confident that he could mingle 
with ttie diseased and that the strength 
of his faith would preserve him safe from 
the mortal contagion. Accordingly he 
was presumptuous enough to travel one 
hundred miles to Boston to bring his faith 
to th« test; the result was that he caught 
the contagion, came home and died with 
it, the disease also spreading in his family 
and among his neighbors. This event one 
would think would have somewhat shaken 
the faith of his followers but on the con- 
trary it seemed to increase their zeal. 

In 1725, a company of Rogeiines were 
taken up on the Sabbath in Norwich, 
Conn., while on their way from their place 
of residence to Lebanf)n ; they were treat 
ed with much abuse and many of them 
whipped in a most unmerciful manner. — 
This occasioned Gov. Jenks, of Rhode Is- 
land, to write spiritefily against their per- 
secutors, and also to condemn the Roger- 
ines for their provoking, disorderly con- 
duct. 

One family of the Rogerines was named 
Colver or Culver, (Ed ward's History spells 
the name one way and Governor Jenks 
the other). This family consisted of John 
Colver and his wife, who were a part of the 
company which was treated so rudely at 
Norwich, and five sons and five daughters, 
who, with their families, made up the 
the number of twenty-one souls. In the 
year 1734, this large family removed from 
New London, Conn., and settled in New 
Jersey. The first place they pitched upon 
for a residenca, was on the east side of 



148 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



Schooley's Mountain, in Morris county. — 
They continued here about three years 
and then went in a body to Waretovvn, 
then in Monmouth but now in Ocean coun- 
ty. VVliile here tliey had their meetings 
in a school house, and tlieir peculiar man- 
ner of conducting services was quite'anov 
elty to other settlers in the vicinity. As 
in England, during the meeting tlie wo- 
men would be engaged in knitting or sew- 
ing, and the men in making axe handles, 
basket splints or engaged in other work, 
but we hear of no attempt to disturb oth- 
er societies. 

They continued at Waretown about elev- 
en years, and then went back to Morris 
county ;>nd settled on the west side of the 
mountain from which they had removed. 
In 1790 they were reduced to two old per- 
sons whose names were Thomas Colver 
and Sarah Mann ; but the posterity of 
John Colver. it is said, is yet quite numer- 
ous in Morris county. Abraham Waeir 
from whom the village of Waretown de- 
rives its name, tradition says was a mem- 
ber of tlie Rogerine Society. When the 
main body of the society left, he remained 
behind, and became quite a prominent 
business man, generally esteemed ; he 
died in 1768. and his descendants removed 
to Squan and vicinity near the head of 
Barnegat bay. 

Before concluding this notice of the 
Rogerine;-, it should be stated that anoth- 
er thing in their creed was that it was noi 
necessary to have marriages performed by 
ministers or legal officers ; they held that 
it was only necessary for the man and wo- 
man to exchange vows of marriage to 
make the ceremony binding, A zealous 
Rogerine once took to himself a wife in 
this simple manner, and then to tantalize 
Governor Saltonstall called on him to in 
form him they had married themselves 
without aid of church or state, and that 
they intended to live together as husband 
and wife without their sanction. " What," 
said the Governor, in apparent indignation, 
" do you take this woman for your wife?" 
" Yes, I most certainly do," replied the 
man. " And do you tal<e this man for your 
husband?" said he to the woman. The 
woman replied in the affirmative. "Then," 
said the wily old governor, " in the name 
of the Commonwealth I pronounce you hus- 
band and wife — whom God hath joined to- 
gether let no man put asunder ? You are 
now married according to both law and 
gospel." 



The couple retired much chagrined at 
the unexpected way the Governor had 
turned the tables upon them, despite their 
boasting. 

THE WAR OF 1812. 



Scenes on our Coast. 

During the last war with England the 
vigilance of the British cuisers on our 
coast seriously injured the business of New 
Jersey coiisting vessels. Commodore Hardy 
in his flag ship the " Ramillies," a 74 gun 
ship, had command of the British blockad- 
ing vessels on our coast. Most accounts, 
written and traditional, concede that he 
was one of the most honorable, high-mind- 
ed men in the British service, entirely dif- 
ferent from the infamous Admiral Cock- 
burn, who commanded the blockading 
squadron farthersouth. Commodore Hardy 
rarely took private property except con- 
traband of war without offering compensa- 
tion. Most of the coasters in the southern 
part of Old Monmouth, along Barnegat bay, 
were engaged in the lumber business and 
the stoppage of their trade was seriously 
felt. Occasionally son e bold fortunate cap 
tain would manage to run the blockade and 
reach New York and be well repaid for 
his I'isk, but others who tried the experi- 
ment or were preparing to, were not quite 
so fortunate. 

On the 31st of March, 1812. Commodore 
Hardy, in the Ramillies, came close to Bar- 
negat Inlet and sent in two long barges 
loaded with armed men after two Ameri- 
can vessels Iving in the inlet waiting a 
chance to slip out. They first boarded the 
schooner Greyhound, Capt. Jesse Rogers, 
of Potters CreeK, and attempted to take 
her out but she grounded and the enemy 
fired her and both vessel and cargo were 
burned up. They then set fire to a sloop 
belonging to Waretown, owned by Captain 
Jonathan Winner, Hezekiah Soper and 
Timothy Soper ; this vessel was saved, how- 
ever, as signals were unexpectedly fired 
from the sliip which caused the barges has- 
tily to leave for the ship that she might 
start in pursuit of some vessel seen at sea. 
As soon as the barges left, the Americans 
went on board the sloop and extinguistied 
the fire. While the British were in the In- 
let a party landed on the beach wear the 
present lighthouse and killed some four- 
teen or fifteen head of cattle belonging to 
Jeremiah Spragg and John Allen. The 
owners were away but the British left word 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



149 



if thejr presented their bill to Commodore 
Hardyjhe would settle it, but they were too 
patriotic to do anything that savored of 
furnishing supplies to the enemy. In some 
instances on the New Jersey coast wheie 
cattle and other things bad been taken by 
Hardy and word left that he would p.ij for 
tliem, the owners though! themselves jus- 
tifiable in going off to his ship and getting 
the money, as the supplies were not fur- 
nished voluntarily but taken by foice. 

The appearance of the Ramiliies at this 
time at Barnegat Inlet created much ex- 
citerapnt in the villages along the bay. — 
At Waretown, tor fear tliat tlie baigea 
might land and commit excesses like those 
which disgraced the operations of Cock 
burn, ibe women and ciiildren, and valu- 
ables easily carried weri'^ sent to a hamlet 
in the (voods a tew milefi west of the place. 
At Forked River the late Hon. Charles 
Parker (father of Gov Parker) had just 
completed a large building foi a dweUmg, 
store house, &c., at- the upper landing. 
The roof of thi*! building wis crowded with 
spectaiors, who, th^. ugh six or seven miles 
distant, had a fair view of tlie sliip, burn- 
ing vessel and movemen;s of tiie enemy. 

At another time the schooner President, 
Captain Amos Birdsall, of Waretown, 
bound to New YorK, was tak-^n by Comnio- 
dore Hardy, who at once commenoed tak- 
ing from the schooner her spars, deck 
plank, &c. Captain Birdsall had lib ity to 
leave with his crew, in a y^fwl, whenever he 
pleas' d, but on account of high winds he 
was detained a day or two, when he suc- 
ceeded in getting on board a fishing smack 
and thu^ got home. Before he left, his 
schooner's masts had bten s^iwed into plank 
by the British. 

The sloop Elizabetli, Captain Thomas 
Bunnell, of Forked River, was captured by 
barges sent in Barnegat Inlet; she was 
towed out to sea, but the British shortly af- 
ter lost her on Long Island. She was owned 
by William Piatt and Thomas Bunnell.—- 
At another time Captain Bunnell was cap- 
tured by the British and detained some 
time and then put on board a neutral 
(Spanish?) ship and finally reached N< w 
York. 

The sloop Traveller, Captain Asa Grant, 
■vas fired by the British but the fire was 
extinguished before much damage was 
done. Tlie sloop Maria and another sloop 
not remembered were chased ashore near 
Squan Inlet. 



An Amusing Stratagem. 

The noted Commodore Percival, who 
died a few years ago, familiarly named 
" Mad Jack Percival,'' in the early part of 
his naval career was the hero of an adven- 
ture on the coast of Monmouth which is 
thus described by a paper published in 
New York at the time: 

"On Sunday morning, July 4, 1813, the 
fishing smack Yankee was borrowed by 
Commodore Lewis, who has command of 
the American flotilla stationed at Sand} 
Hook, for the purposa of taking by strata- 
gem ihe sloop Eagle, tender to the Poic- 
tiers 74, cruising off and on Sandy Hook, 
which succeeded to a ciiarm. A calf, a 
sheep and a goose were- purchased and se- 
cured on deck. T:iirty men, well armed, 
were seceted in the cabin and forepeak. 
Thus prepared the Yankee stood out o"^' 
Mosquito r'ove as if going on a fishing icip 
to the Banks; ^hreemen only lieing on 
deck dressed in fisherman's upparel with 
buff caps on. The Eagle on perceiving the 
smack immediately gave chase, and after 
coming up with her and finding she had 
live -iock onboard ordered her to go down 
to the Commodore, thfn five miles distant. 
Thehelmsman ot the ^mackanswe'-ed" Ay I 
ay, sir!" and appfirenfly put up the helm 
for tliai purpose which brought liim along- 
side the Eagle not three yards distant. The 
watchword Lawr'.nce was then given when 
she armed men rushed on deck from their 
hi(Jing places and poured into her a volley 
uf musketrv wnicli struck the ciew witii 
dismay and drove them so precipitately 
irio the hoid that they had not time to 
strike tiie flag. Seeing the enemy's deck 
clear, .Sailing-master Percival, who com- 
m-vnded the expedition, ordered the men 
to cease from firing ; upon wtuch one oi i he 
men came out the hold and stiuck the 
E<gle's colors. They liad on board a thirty- 
two pound brass liowitzer loaded with can- 
ister shot, but so sudden was the surprise 
tliey had not time to discharge it. The 
crew of the Eagle consisted of H. Morris, 
master's mate of the Poictiers, W. Price, 
midshipman, and 11 seamen and marmes. 
Mr. Morris was killed, Mr. Price mortally 
wounded, and one marine killed, and one 
wounded. The Eagh with the prisoners ar 
rived off the Battery in the afternoon and 
landed the prisoners at Whitehall, amid 
the shouts and plaudits of thousands of 
spectators assembled at the Battery 'o cel- 
ebrate the anniversary of independence. — 
Mr. Morris was buried at Sandy Hook with 



150 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



military honors. Mr. Price was carried to 
New York, where on Thursday he died; 
and was buried with military ceremonies 
in St. Paul's churchyard." 

A traditionary version of this aifair, which 
we have heard from old citizens, says that 
Percival wished to make his boat appear 
as a market boat, that he placed one of 
his men on a seat close to the bulwark dis- 
guised as an old Quakerish looking farmer, 
with broad brimmed hat and long staff in 
hand, while he looked like an ignorant 
boor at the wheel and by his answers made 
the British think he was half-witted. When 
ordered to drop along side under threat of 
being fired into, he made a silly reply to 
the effect '• You had better not try it, lor 
Dad's big molasses jug is on deck and if 
you broke that he would make you sorrv 
for it." 

THE LAWRENCE FAMILY. 



The Lawrence family claim to be de- 
scended from Sir Robert Lawrence, oS Ash- 
ton Hall, Lancastershire, England, who 
went to Palestine during the Crusades wilh 
Richard Coeur de Leon, and parti f>ipated in 
the siege of St. Jean de Acre, in the year 
1119, and was the first to plant the banner 
of the cross on the battlements of the town 
for which he was knighted. A grandson 
of Sir Robert Lawrence, named Sir James 
Lawrence, married into the Washington 
family, having been united to Matilda 
Washington in the reign of Henry III. — 
General George Washington's half brother 
Lawrence, was so named on account of his 
relationship to this family. 

Tlie first Lawrences who came to Amer- 
ica were two brothers, John, aged 17 years, 
and William, aged 12 years, and also Mary 
Lawrence, aged nine years, wlio embarked 
in the barque Planter, April 2nd, 1635 ; her 
passengers were chiefly from St Albans, 
Hertfordshire, England. Another brother 
named Thomas, came over in 1655, twenty 
years- later. The greater portion of the 
Lawrences in America are descended from 
William, the second brother. 

The first Lawrence who settled within 
the limits of Old Monmouth, whose name 
the writer has met with, was Elisha, a son 
of William. Elisha commenced business 
as a merchant, in the latter part of the 
seven tee»ith century, at Cheesequakes, on 
the south side of the Raritan, but his store 
having been pillaged by the crew of a 
French privateer, iie removed to Upper 



Freehold then a wilderness. He repre- 
sented the county in the provincial Assem- 
bly in 1708 — 9. His residence was called 
Chestnut Grove. He was born in 1666, 
and died May 27tii, 1724. He married 
Lucy Stout and had children as follows ; 
sons, Joseph, Elisha and John, and daugh- / 
ters, Hannah, who married Richard Salter,/^ 
Hilizabeth, who married Joseph Salter, Sa- 
rah, who married John Ember and Rebec- 
ca, who married a New Yorker named 
Watson. The second son, Elisha, had a 
son named John Brown Lawrence, who 
was the father of tlie celebrated Commo- 
dore Lawrence of " Don't give up the 
ship" fame, and grandfather of Commo- 
dore Boggs, who so distinguished himself 
in the Varuna in passing the forts below 
New Orleans during the late rebellion. 

The genealogy of the Lawrence family 
has been traced out and published with 
more or less completeness in several works, 
the most extensive of which is one devo- 
tf d to giving the history and genealogy of 
the family, jiublished by T. Law rence, New 
York, in 1858. In the present article it 
is impracticable to give the genealogy of 
all the Lawrences in old Monmouth, but 
we append that of one branch, members 
of which were quite noted in the Revolu 
tionary history of tlie county as will be 
seen by reference to sketches of them in 
chapters previously published. 

As ab >v*^ stated, the first, named Elisha, 
had a son named Jphn, wlio ran the noted 
Lawrence's line between East and West 
Jersey, v/ho was born 1708. This John 
mitrried Mary, daughter of William Harts- 
horne, and had children as follows; John, 
a physician, who died unmarried ; Helena 
who married James Holmes, merchant, 
New York ; Lucy, wno married Rev. Hen 
ry Waddell, of New York, and who was 
installed pastor of the Episcopal church, 
at Shrewsbury, in 1788 ; Elizabeth, who 
mariied William LeCompte of Georgia; 
Mary and Sarah who died single, and Eli- 
sha, who married Mary Ashfield, of New 
York, and who was Sheriff of Monmouth 
county at the breaking out.of the Revolu- 
tion. 

The Hendricksons. 

This family is of Dutch origin, and mem- 
bers of it were among the first whites who 
can»e to New Amsterdam, (now New 
York). Captain Cornells Hendrickson, 
(says our account,) was the first navigator 
who set foot on tht- soil of Pennsylvania 
and West Jersey, and probably the first 
white man who set foot in that part of 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



151 



old Monmouth now comprised within the 
limits of Ocean. About the latter part of 
1614 he cruised along the New Jersey- 
coast making explorations in the celebra- 
ted little yacht " Onrest " (Restless) the 
first vessel built in New York. He re- 
turned to Holland, in 1616, to give an ac- 
count of his discoveries. 

Of the Hendricksons who settled in this 
country among the first comers, were Rut- 
ger and Legar, who settled up the Hud- 
son river at Rensaelters-wyck, 1630; Cor- 
nells, who was there in 1642 : another Cor- 
nells came over in the ship Gilded Beaver 
and landed at New York in May, 1658. — 
Gerrit came from Scrool, in Holland, in 
the ship St. Jean Baptiste, and landed 
May, 1661 Alfred came from Maersen. 
in the ship " Fox " May, 1662. Hendrick 
came from Westphalia in the ship Rose- 
tree, March, 1663. 

Some of the family at a very early day 
settled in old Monmouth, and during the 
Revolution many of them were in the ser- 
vice of their country in various capacities, 
meeting with the usual vicissitudes of war. 
This family ajjpear to be great sticklers 
for handing down old family names. — 
Among the first comers over two hundred 
years ago and from that time on down 
through the Revolution to the present 
wherever Hendricksons have been or may 
be, there are found the Cornelius's, Ger- 
rits, Alberts and Hendricks or Henrys. 

The Randolph Family. 

The ancient name of this family, so nu- 
merous in New Jersey and elsewhere, was 
Fitz Randolph, for which reason members 
retain at the present day the letter F as 
the initial of a middle name. They are 
said to be descended from Edward Fitz 
Randolph who came when a lad with his 
parents to Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 
the year 1630. The following items relat- 
ing to him are from New England author 
ities. 

In a manuscript of the Rev. John Lo- 
throp, the first pastor of the churches at 
Barnstable and Scituate, the names of own- 
ers of dwellings which were built when he 
arrived, and also those built shortly after 
are given. From his manuscript, copied 
in a modern New England work, the fol- 
lowing items are extracted : 

" The Houses in ye planta — [manuscript 
obliterated. ) 



Scituate, 
Att my comeing hither, onely these 
wch was aboute the end of Sept. 1634." — 
After naming those which were already 
built on his arrival, he says the 36th one, 
built in 1636, was occupied by " the young 
Master Edward Fittsrandolfe." 

From the church records of Barnstable 
and Scituate are derived the following 
items relating to the founder of this fami- 
ly in America. 

''Married. Edward Fittsrandolfe to Eliz- v 
abeth Blossome, May 10th, 1637." 

Miss Blossome was a daughter of '■• Wid- 
ow Blossome " whose name is frequently 
mentioned in Old Plymouth colony rec- 
ords as far back as 1632. 

" Edward Fitts surrandolfe joyned 
(church) May 14th, 1637. Our Brother 
Fittsrandolfe's wife joyned August 27th. 
1643. 

Baptized : Nathaniell son of Edward * 
Fittsrandolfe, Aug. 9th, 1640. Died Na- 
thanniell son ot Edward Fitts Randolfe, 
December 10th, 1640. Baptized ISathan- 
iell son ot Edward Fittsrandolfe, May 15th, 
1642. Baptized Mary daughter of Edward 
Fittsrandolfe, October 6th, 1644. Baptized 
Hannah daughter of above, April 23d, 
1648. Btptized Margaret, daughter of 
above, June 2nd, 1650. Baptized John, 
son of above, Jan. 2nd, 1652. 

"Mary Fitzrandle, daughter above named 
married Samuel Hincley, 1668." 

The last named Nalhanniell became 
quite a conspicuous man in after ye.^rs. — 
It is said that descendants of Edward Fitz 
Randolph went to Piscataqua, New Hamp- 
shire, and from thence removed to Piscat- 
aqua, New Jersey, and from thence de- 
scendants went to Monmouth and else- 
where. Bennington F. Randolpli, Esq , 
formerly of Freehold, the late Judge Jo- 
seph F. Randolph, formerly M. C, and 
Senator Theodore F. Randolph, are. we be 
lieve, descendants of Edward Fitz Ran- 
dolph. 

By the exM'acts quoted above, it will be 
seen that the old Puritan pastor was sore- 
ly puzzled as to the proper mode of spell- 
ing the name Fitz Randolph, but we cer 
tainly must give him credit for noting 
down minute particulars. 

We have been informed that quite a 
complete history of the Fitz Randolph 
family has been preserved by some de- 
scendants in Philadelphia, especially by 
Hon. Ross Snowden, a prominent mem- 
of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. 



152 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



LONG BRANCH. 



Who first Brought it into Notice. 

The earliest mention of Long Branch as 
a watering place in any historical work 
that the writer of this has found, is in 
Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, publish- 
ed in 1830, as follows : 

" This place, before the Revolution, was 
owned by Colonel White, a British officer, 
and an inhabitant of New York. The 
small house which he occupied as a sum- 
mer residence was existing among a clump 
of houses owned by Renshaw, in 1830. — 
In consequence of the war the place was 
confiscated. The house was first used as a 
boarding house by Eliiston Perot of Phil- 
adelphia in 1788. At that time the whole 
premises were in charge of one old woman 
left to keep the place from injury. Of her 
Mr. Perot begged an asylum for himself 
and family, which was granted, provided 
he could get beds and bedding from oth- 
ers. Being pleased with the place he re- 
peated his visit there three successive 
years, taking some friends with him. In 
1790-1, Mr. McKnight, of Monmouth, no 
ticing the likmg shown for the place 
deemed it a good speculation to buy it. — 
He bought the whole premises containing 
one hundred acres for £700 and then got 
Mr. Perot and others to loan him two 
thousand dollars to improve it. He then 
opened it for a watering place and before 
his death it was supposed he had made 
forty thousand dollars by the investment. 
The estate was sold to Rehshaw tor $13,- 
000." 

In the foregoing extract Watson says 
the property originally belonged to a Brit- 
ish officer named White, whose property 
was confiscated during the Revolution. — 
We cannot now recall the name of but 
four loyalists of the name who belonged 
to or held property in old Monmouth, viz : 
Philip, who was killr d by his guards in at 
tempting to escape on the way to Free- 
hold ; Aaron, (brother of Philip) and John, 
both of whom went to the British Provin- 
ces at the close of the war. and Josiah 
White, of old Shrewsbury township, whose 
property was confiscated and advertised to 
be sold at Tintou Falls, March 29th, 1779. 
The last named may be the one referred 
to as we have found no mention of the con- 
fiscation of property of others. 

According to Watson it would seem 

>t 



Elliston Pbrot was the Founder 
of Long Branch as a watering place. The 
Perot family has been a prominent one in 
Philadelphia annals. During the Revolu 
tion the Perot mansion at Germantown 
was used by Lord Howe as* a residence, 
and after the war. while General Wash- 
ington was president, he also occupied it 
for a time during the prevalence of the 
yellow fever in the city in 1793. Members 
of this family have alwajs been patrons of 
some of our New Jersey watering places. 

The Last Indian Claimants. 

At a conference between the whites and 
Indians held at Crosswicks, N. J., in Feb- 
ruary, 1758, two Indians known by the 
whites as Tom Store and Andrew WooUey 
claimed the land " from the mouth of 
Squan river to the mouth of Shrewsbury, 
by the streams of each to their heads and 
across from one head to another." This 
claim was satisfactorily settled at a subse- 
quent conference held at Easton, Pa., in 
October of the same year. These Indians 
belonged to a band of the Delawares then 
known as the Cranbury Indians; their 
principal settlement was about two miles 
northeast of the present village of Cranbu- 
ry and was established through the instru- 
mentality of the celebrated Rev. David 
Bralnerd, and by him called Bethel. The 
Indians came here in 1746 from Crossv/icks 
'' to be away from bad whites." At the 
above mentioned Crosswicks conference, 
several delegates, beside Tom Store and 
Andrew Woolley, attended from the Cran 
bury Indians with papers, claims, powers 
of attorney, &c., for themseives and the 
rest of the band, all of which were settled 
to the satisfaction of the Indians. 

History and Traditions of Long Branch. 

The following extracts are from the New 
York Gazette, Morris' Guide, and other au- 
thorities, to which some comments are 
added : 

" The nomenclature of popular resorts 
has become » matter of acknowledged in- 
terest. Various surmises — some ol them 
absurd, all incorrect — havegonethe rounds 
as to the origin of Long Branch, among 
them an hypothesis in a traveler's direc- 
tory, that it was termed longest branch or 
route from that point on the seashore to 
Amboy." 

From the best sources we find a tradition 
generally credited among the best informed 
descendants of old settlers, that a party of 
Indians whose grounds lay back of this 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



153 



portion of the coast, visited tlie shore in 
tlie fall of 1734. So well pleased were ttie 
red men with this inaugural visit to the 
seaside, that like many of their modern 
white brethren, they became habitues of 
the place, still adhering to the original 
camping ground, a location near the pres- 
ent Clarendon* Hotel — the nearest to the 
depot. Here they made tiieir annual pil- 
grimage for fishing, &c., and welcoming, 
after a long nurch, the termination of the 
land, called the place " Land's End ;" this 
became a general term for the extent of 
waste which tliey gradually explored, and 
on which they established otlier campinti 
grounds, such as Squan beach, &g., and 
the original spot was designated as "Laud's 
End at the Long Branch," a small stream 
branching from the I'Souih Shrousbury 
(Shrewsbury) River and extending for a 
considerable distance nearly parallel with 
the coast. This stream still m'^'mders 
through the vicinity of the depots and 
supplies an abundance of ice during the 
winter. The locality was thus designated 
by the abbreviated term Long Branch, 

A few years thereafter settlers bought 
crown lands for twenty shillin</s per acre, 
and to protect their dwellings from the 
winter winds upon the coast, located them 
a short distance from the shore, pursuing 
the double calling of farmers and fisher- 
men. They opened the Burlington path- 
way to Monmouth Court House and at- 
tracted other settlers, thus establishing old 
Long Branch village, one and a half miles 
from the beach, and within a radius of this 
<listance embracing a population of over 
three thousand. A portion of this village 
just beyond the toll gate, is still quaintly 
termed " the pole" — from a liberty pole 
having been constantly renewed at this 
point with patriotic devotion since 1812. 
That portion which the wealthier citizens 
have erected for summer resorts is natu- 
rally termed " the shore," the nearest spot 
Branchville, the South Shrewsbury river 
landing Branchport, three quarters of a 
mile from the village, beside Rockville on 
the south and Loyalton on the west. — 
Guests at the beach still ao over to " the 
Pole" for purchases, in which a greater va- 
riety is desirable than can be found at the 
shore. Here is the red post office, though 
for greater convenience a branch shore 
post office has been established. 

When the old settlers at the "Pole" 
had opened the Burlington pathway to 
Monmouth Court House, intersecting a 
road to Burlington, communication was 



then opened with this point of the Atlan- 
tic coast, possessing advantages as a salu- 
brious seaside resort far superior to any 
other. We are credibly informed that no 
other portion of this coast commands a 
bluflf of more than from half a mile to a 
mile extent, while Long Branch has a con- 
tinuous range of five miles of bluff, which 
extends over a rolling country of increas- 
ing elevations back to Monmouth Court 
House at Freehold, a distance of seven- 
teen miles. At the early period indicated, 
Phihtdelphians availed themselves of the 
opportunity thus presented to drive over 
the new road and enjoy the luxuries of a 
sea bath, but there being no inns tor many 
miles they were compelled to return a long 
distance on their way homeward for a 
nights entertainment. A Mr. Bennett 
proved himself the man for the times by 
erecting a small building for the accom- 
dations of these summer visitors, and up- 
on a site a. little east of the present Metro- 
politan Hotel; the exact ground has long 
since been confiscated by old Neptune and 
is now available only for bathing purposes. 
This, by the way, is in the vicinity of the 
Indians' first camping ground in 1734. The 
next man of enterprise of whom- we have 
an account was named McKnight ; he 
built a hotel about a mile down the beach 
beyoiid Pitman's. It was called Bath, or 
Green's hotel. This was destroyed by fire 
a few years ago. 

To the above readable article, which we 
find credited to the New York Oazette a 
few years ago, and which was copied into 
many papers in our State, we take excep- 
tions on one or two points. The writer evi- 
dentlv had not read the account of Watson, 
who had been familiar with the habitues 
of Long Branch forty or fifty years before. 
And we believe the Indians had visited 
the place long before 1734 ; in fact before 
the time the whites had any knowledge of 
the locality. Long before this the fierce, 
warlike Mohawks of New Yoi k, the terror 
of N^w Jersey Indians, occasionally made 
inroads into our State, conquering and 
plundering the red men within our bor- 
ders, who were no match for them When 
anticipating their raids, our West Jersey 
Indians would send their squaws and chil- 
dren to the sea shore for safety j and it is 
probable thatSquan received its name from 
this fact, being probably derived from the 
Indian.words *S'(/Maw, oj- Squaw's place. The 
Indians who visited Long Branch in 1734 
were probably from Crosswicks, and after 
1746 the Cranbury Indians frequented this 



154 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



section and laid claim to it as elsewhere 
stated. 

Origin of Name — The Great Wrestling 
Match. 

" Long Branch takes its name from a 
brook, a branch of the South Shrewsbury 
river, which runs in a direct line north- 
w.^rd with the coast. It is of little use ex- 
cept for gathering ice for the hotels and 
cottages 

Tradition points loan Indian fishery, es- 
tablished inl734, as the first occupation of 
this place, which was style'l at that time 
' Land's End.' A legend tells us that in 
those early time.-; four men. named Slocum, 
Parker, Wardell and Hulett came from 
Khode Island in quest of land, 'i'hey found 
the Indians friendly but not disposed to 
sell. It was proposed by the Yankees that 
a wrestling match should be made up be- 
tween one Indian and one of the whites, 
to be decided by the best in thre«- rounds. 
If the champion of the white hian won, 
they were to have as much laud as a man 
could walk around in a day ; if otherwise 
they were to leave peaceably .John Slocum 
was selected for the stiuggle — e, man of 
great proportions, athletic and of great 
strength,, courage and inflexibility of pur- 
pose. Great preparations were made to wit- 
ness the encounter. The chosen Indian 
wrestler practiced continually for the 
event. The day lonji expected proved cloud- 
less and auspicious. The spot chosen was 
the present Fish Landing. A circle was 
formed and the Indian champion, elated, 
confident and greased from head to foot, 
api^eared. Slocum advanced cuoly and the 
struggle began ; it was long and doubtful ; 
finally Slocum threw his antagonist but in 
an instant the Indian was again on his 
feet. A murmur ran through the circle. — 
Again the Indian made a violent effort and 
both fell. Another murmur was lieard. — 
Silence prevailed as they came together 
again, broken only by the roaring of the 
surf. A long struggle. Slocum inured to 
toil, hardy and rugged, proved too mucli 
for the Indian and threw him, to the in- 
tense disappointment of the Indians and 
undisguised joy of the whites. The terms 
were then all arrange 1. .John Slocum had 
two brothers and they located that part of 
Long Branch leaching from the shore to 
Turtle Mill brook, embracing all lands ly 
ing north of the main road, from the sea 
to Eatontown, between these two points, 
to the south of Shrewsbury, except Fresh 
Pond and Snag Swamp, which was located 



by one of the Wardell family. A consider- 
able portion of these lands continued in 
the possession of the Slocums until thirty 
nr forty years ago. All are now gone into 
other hands. The Parkers placed them- 
selves on Rumson's Neck. Hulett lived for 
a time at Horse Neck but afterwards left 
this region. Indian warrants, it is said, still 
exist in the county conveying these lands 
io the white owners. 

After some years a few hardy settlers 
fi'om neighboring provinces purchased 
lands from the agents of the Crown at the 
rate of twenty shillings per acre, deeds for 
v,'hich, it is stated, are in existence over 
the signature of King George III or his 
agents." 

A notice of Long Branch in 1819, from a 
paper published at the time, has been giv- 
en in a previous article. Probably the most 
noted Indian in this section of Old Mon- 
mouth was the celebrated Indian Will, of 
whom a number of traditions were pub- 
lished in the Democrat, June 5th, 1873. He 
was well known at Eatontown, Long Branch 
and vicinity, at Squan and along the coast 
down as far as Barnegat. A tradition in 
Howe's Collections says the Indians in this 
section sold out their lands to Lewis Mor- 
ris in 1670, but Indian Will refused to 
leave. The probability is that this tradition 
has confounded two transactions. Indian 
Will, according to the best traditionary ati- 
thoritjf, lived near a century later and the 
Indian sale of land with which his name 
has been connected was probably the one 
originating at a conference held at Cross- 
wicks in February, 1758, and concluded at 
Eastern Pennsylvania in the same year, 
particulars of which were given in the ar- 
ticle headed " Indian Claims in Old Mon 
mouth," in the Democrat of July 24, 1873. 



NEW JERSEY WATERING PLACES- 
THEIR ORIGIN. 



The first seaside resorts in New Jersey 
in all probability were Long Beach in 
Monmouth, and Tuckers' Beach in Little 
Egg Harbor. The first named place, now 
in (>cean county, is opposite to the vil- 
lages of Barnegat and Mannahawkin and 
(he latter opposite Tuckerton. Of these 
places Watson's Annals of Philadelphia 
says : 

" We think Long Beach and Tucker's 
Beach in point of earliest attraction as a 
seaside resort for Philadelphians must 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



J55 



claim the precedence. They had their 
visitors and distant admirers long before 
Squan and Deal and even Long Branch 
itself had got their several fame. To those 
■''•ho chiefly desire to restore languid 
frames and to find their nerves braced and 
firmer strung, nothing can equal the in- 
vigorating surf and general air. * * * 
LoiiiT Branch — last but greatest in fame — 
because the fashionables who rule all 
things have made it so, is still inferior as 
a surf to those qbove named." 

Before the Revolution, Philadelphians 
and others from a distance, vrho visited 
Long and Tucker beaches, went in old 
fashioned shore wagons on their return 
trips from the city and took with them 
their stoves, bhvnkets, &c. Some people 
on the beaches began to make provisions 
to receive these transient boarders and so 
origiiinted tliis business in New Jersey in 
which now annually is spent such an im- 
m«n?^e amount of money. The shore wag- 
ons carted fish and oysters to Philadelphia, 
Trenton and other places over a hundred 
years ago, and these p'-imitive convey- 
nnces on their return trips were first used 
to convey health or pleasure seekers to 
our earliest seaside resorts. What a con- 
trast between then and now — between an 
oyster vv.tgon and a palace car 1 

Long Brancli comes next in order being 
first known as a watering place about 
1788. 

Cape May began to be known as a wat- 
ering phice about 1813. Athmtic City was 
founded some forty years la+er, about the 
time of the completion of the Camden and 
Atlantic Railroad. 

The forego'ng watering places from 
Long Brancii to Cape May. it is said, were 
all hiouglit into notice by Philadelpliians. 

A Sea Shore correspondent says : 

'•The first seaside health or pleasure 
seekers from Philadelphia would present 
quite a contrast with the great majority of 
visitors at our watering places at the pres- 
ent day in their methods of enjoying 
themselves. At home, being citizens of 
property and siandmy they W(;ul(i of 
course conform to the customs of city life 
in dress and other matters, but at the sea- 
shore they often adopted the common 
fisherman cl"tlie-< -iind enjoyed tlicmselves 
by fishing, oystering, bathing, &c., unre- 
strained by fashionable conventionalities. 
From the shore villages, the inhabitants 
young and'old would often get up " beacli 
parties" to have a good time bathuig in 
the surf during tlie day, and enjoying 



themselves by plays and dancer in the 
erenin^r, and it was no uncommon thing 
to se;> the visitors from the city mixing in 
witli their sports, evidently enjoying and 
being benefitted by them. Some twenty 
years ago I frequently met, at one of our 
sertside resorts a prcmiinent young Phila- 
delphia merchant whom I especially no- 
ticed because an ancestor of his first 
brought Long Branch into notice and his 
method of enjoying himself was similar to 
our first shore visitors. He had his own 
fishing boat and pleasure yacht ; at times 
in red flannel shirt and fisherman clothes 
he would engage in fishing, oystering, <fec., 
and he was an expert in handling his 
yacht whether by himself, racing with 
otiier boats, or taking rural parties on 
pleasure excursions. He evidently en- 
joyed himself in these healthful methods 
of passing away his time, reminding me of 
the celebrated Prince Murat's manner of 
spending his time in the same locality 
some forty or fifty years before." 



Captain Molly Pitcher. 

Her bravery at Fort Clinton and Monmouth — 

Her Sad End. 

From various articles relating to this 
noted woman the following are selected : 

" Tlie story of a woman who rendered 
essential service to the Americans in the 
battle of Monmouth is founded on fact. — 
Sde was a female of masculine mould, and 
dressed in a mongrel suit, with the petti- 
coats of her own sex and an artilleryman's 
coat, cocked hat and feathers. The anec- 
dote usually related is as follows : Before 
the armies engaged in general action, two 
of the advanced batteries commenced a 
severe fire against each other. As the heat 
was excessive, Molly, who was the wife of 
a cannonier, constantly ran to bring her 
hust)and water from a neighboi'ing spring. 
While passing to his post she saw him fall 
and on hastening to his assistance, found 
iiim dead. At tlie same moment she 
heard an oflBcer order tlie cannon to be re- 
moved from its place, comi>laining he 
could not fill his post with as brave a man 
as had been killed. " No,'" said the in- 
irepid Moliy, fixing her eyes upon the of- 
ficer, " tde cannon i-hall not be removed 
i'or the want of someone to serve it ; since 
my brave husband is no more, I will use 
my utmost exertious to avenge his death.'' 
Tlie activity and courage with which she 
performed the office of cannonier during 
the action, attracted the attention of all 



156 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



who witnessed it, and finally of Washing- 
ton himself, who afterward gave her the 
rank of lieutenant and granted her half- 
pay during life. She wore an epaulette 
and was called ever after Captain Molly. 
( Hoioe's Collections.) 

LossiNG in his Field Book of the Revo- 
lution thus mentions Molly Pitcher : 

" She was a sturdy young camp follower 
only twenty two years of age and in devo- 
tion to her husband, who was a cannonier, 
she illustrated the character of her coun- 
trywomen of the Emerald Isle. In the 
action (Battle of Monmouth) while her 
husband was managing one of the field 
pieces, she constantly brought him water 
from a spring near by. A shot from the 
enemy killed him at his post; and the 
officer in command, having no one compe- 
tent to fill his place, ordered the piece to 
be withdrawn. Molly saw her husband 
fall as she came from the spring and also 
heard the order. She dropped her bucket, 
seized the rammer and vowed that she 
would fill the place of her husband at the 
gun and avenge his death. She performed 
the duty with a skill and courage which 
attracted the attention of all who saw her. 
On the following morning, covered with 
dirt and blood, General Greene presented 
her to General Washington, who admiring 
her bravery, conferred upon her the com- 
mission of Sergeant. By his recommenda- 
tion her name was placed upon th* list of 
half pay officers for life. She left the ar- 
my soon after the Battle of Monmouth 
and died near Fort Montgomery among 
the Hudson Highlands. She usually went 
by the name of Captain Molly. Th© ven- 
erable widow of General Hamilton, who 
died in 1854, told me she had often seen 
Captain Molly. She described her as a 
stout, red-haired, freckled-faced young 
Irish woman with a handsome, piercing 
eye. The French officers, charmed by 
the story of her bravery, made her many 
presents. She would sometimes pass along 
the French lines with her cocked hat and 
get it almost filled with crowns." 

The same writer visited the locality of 
Forts Montgomery and Clinton on the 
Hudson, where Molly Pitcher ended her 
days and there found old residents who 
" remembered the famous Irish woman 
called Captain Molly, the wife of acanon- 
ier who worked a field piece at the battle 
of Monmouth on the death of her hus- 
band. She generally dressed in the petti- 
coats of her sex with an artilleryman's 
coat over. She was in Fort Clinton with 



her husband when it was attacked in 1,^77. 
When the Americans retreated from the 
fort, as the enemy scaled the ramparts her 
husband dropped his match and fled. 
MoLLEY caught it up, touched off the piece 
and then scampered off. It was the last 
gun the Americans fired in the fort. Mrs. 
Rose remembered her as Dirty Kate, living 
between Fort Montgomery and Butter- 
milk Falls, at the close of the war, where 
she died a horrible death from syphilitic 
disease. Washington h^d hoaored her 
with a lieutenant's commission for her 
bravery in the field of Monmouth nearly 
nine months after the battle, when review- 
ing its events." 

IS AN OYSTER A WILD ANIMAL OR 
A TAME ONE? 



This question to many may appear ab 
surd but it has been broached in lawsuits 
in our state involving business enterprises 
to the amount of some thousands oi dol- 
lars yearly. It originated in the question 
whether or not a man had an exclusive 
right to oysters which he had planted. — 
The first case carried up to the New Jersey 
Supreme Court relating to planted oysters 
began in old Shrewsbury township about 
seventy years ago. A man named Lever- 
son sued two men named Shepard and 
Lay ton for the larceny of 1,000 oysters 
which he had planted in North river, 
Shrewsbury township. The case came be- 
fore Esquire Tiebout who gave judgment 
for the plaintiff, three dollars. The de- 
fendants' appealed to the Monmouth Com- 
mon Pleas where the Justice's decision 
was confirmed. The case was then car- 
ried to the Supreme Court and tried in 
1808. The decision, however, was con- 
fined to one point, that of planting where 
there is a natural growth : " Action does 
not lie for taking oysters claimed as plant- 
ed by him in a common navigable stream, 
in which others were found." The court 
seemed to consider the throwing of oyster 
plants where there is a natural growth, as 
an abandonment, and compared it to a 
man "who should take a deer in a forest 
and be simpleton enough to let it go again 
in the same forest, saying, ' this is my deer 
and no man shall touch it;' it would never 
be asked by the next taker what was the 
intention of the simpleton ; the very act 
of letting it go was an abandonment." 

The question of the right to planted oys- 
ters was again brought before the Supreme 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



157 



Court in 1821, m the noted case of Arnold 
vs Mundy, on an appeal in a case from 
Perth Amboy; but this suit hinged mainly 
on title to lands under water, the plaintiff 
having purchased from th© East Jersey 
Proprietors some forty odd acres of land 
under water on which was the oyster bed. 

Just fifty years after the laws relating to 
planted oysters had been first discussed in 
Monmouth, the subject was finally and 
clearly settled by the Supreme Court. On 
an appeal from Cape May, tried in 1858, it 
was charged that Thomas Taylor had sto- 
len oysters to the value of eighteen dollars 
from George Hildreth. This time the ques- 
tion of the right to oysters planted where 
there was no natural growtfi was reached 
and decided. As regards the questiorr 
whether an oyster is a wild animal or a 
tame one the inference from the trial is 
that an oyster from a natural growth bed 
is a wild animal and one from a bed plant- 
ed where there was no natural growtii, is 
•I tame one! The counsel for the defend- 
ant ('I'aylor) plead thai " oysters being an- 
imals fene natures (of a v^ild nature — wild 
!<nimals) there can be no propter ty in them 
unless they be dead or reclaimed or tamed 
or in the actual power or possession of the 
claimant." 

The Chief Justice in giving the opinion 
of the Court said : 

"The principle (advanced by defend- 
ant's counsel) as api^lied to animals ferm 
naturcB is not questioned. But oysters, 
though usually included in that descrip 
tion of aniroals, do not come within the 
reason or operation of the rule. The own- 
er has the same absolute property in them 
that he has ir) inanimate tilings or domes- 
tic animals. Like dor. estic animals they 
continue perpetually in his occupation 
and will not stray from his house or per- 
son. Unlike finimals/ero; naiwro;, they do 
not require to be reclinmed and made tame 
by art, industry or education, nor to be 
c >nfined in order to be within the imme- 
diate power of the owner. If at liberty, 
*hey have neither the inclination nor 
power to escape. For the purpo.^es of the 
present inquiry they are obviously more 
nearly allied to tame animals than to wild 
ones, and perhaps more nearly allied to in- 
animate objects than to animals of either 
de.scription. The indictment could not 
aver that the oysters were dead, for they 
would then be of no value ; nor that they 
were reclaimed or tamed for in this sense 
they were never wild and were not capa- 



ble of domestication ; nor that they were 
confined for that vvould be absurd." 

It was the decision of the court that 

"The owner has the same absolute pi'op- 
erty in oysters that he has \xi inanimate 
things or domestic animals, and the rule 
tliat applies to animals fer<B naiurce does 
not apply to them," and that an indict- 
ment would lie for stealing oysters plant- 
ed in a public or navigable river where 
oysters do not grow naturally, and the 
spot designated by stakes or otherwise. 
Alleged Infringements of Oyster Laws. 

The Newark Evening Courier of Decem- 
ber 21st, 1874, contained an interesting 
article relating to the oyster trade of New- 
ark Bay, Staten Island Sound, Perth and 
South Amboy, &c., during the year 1874, 
from tvhich we extract the following : 

" The great beds at, the mouth of the 
Raritan river, now retained and staked by 
private individuals|for their own use, are 
ou(- mile and a half long and one mile wide, 
riiey were what is termed a natural bed 
up to forty years ago, and were first taken 
possession of by a company from Perth 
Amboy. Tiiey were held by this company 
without color of law for about five years, 
when the people interested in the oyster 
business compelled this monopoly to relin- 
quish iheir claims on the beds, but in re- 
turn they severally staked them off for 
their own use, and still retain them to the 
exclusion uf citizens of their own and oth- 
er counties without the least shadow of 
law. Il is thought that tliis question, to- 
gether with a law looking to the better 
preservation of oysters in the beds, will re- 
ceive the attention of tlie Legislature." 

We siiould suppose the law in this case 
had been clearly settled by the Supreme 
Court, wldch those interested can find 
■stated at length in 1st Halsled, case of Ar- 
nold vs Mundy, and 3d Dutfher, State vs 
Thomas Taylor. '^ 

COLONEL MONCKTON AND THE 

ROYAL GRENADIERS AT TilE 

BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 



Lieutenant Colonel Honorable H. Monck- 
ten, generally called Colonel Monckton, 
according to both written and traditionary 
accounts was one of the most honorable of- 
ficers in the service of the British — accom- 
plished, brave, of splendid personal appear- 
ance and of irreproachable moral charac 
ter. He was in the battle of Long Island 



158 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



in August 1776, when he was shot through 
the body and lay for many weeks at the 
point of death. He recovered and for his 
gallantry on that occasion was promoted 
from the 5th Company, 2d Grenadiers, to 
be Lieutenant Colonel and was in com- 
mand of the battalion at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, in which the 1st and 2n<l Rojal 
Grenadiers bore a consi)icuous part and in 
a charge, the heroic Monckton and the 
greater part of the officers of the genadiers, 
the flower of the Britisli army, fell from a 
terrible fire from the Americans under 
General Wayne, The spoi where Colonel 
Monckton was killed is said to be about 
eight rods north-east of the old parsonage 
»nd he was buried about six feet from the 
west end of the church. About thirty years 
ago a board was set up to mark his grave 
by William R. Wilson, a native of Scotland, 
who will long and favorably be remem 
beredby hundreds of citizens of Monmouth 
and Ocean as a successful teac.ier and for 
his many good qualities of head and heart. 
He died ;>t Forked River, in Ocean county, 
about nineteen years ago, and the respect 
retained for him by his old scholars near 
the battle ground, and elsewhere in Mon- 
mouth, was evidenced by tiie fact of their 
sending for his body and giving it a suita- 
ble final resting place in the vicinity of his 
first labors in this county. Mr. Wilson, or 
" Dominie Wilsen " as he was familiarly 
called on account of his once having been 
a clergyman, deserves a more extended no- 
tice than we have space for in the present 
article. 

On the board prepared and set up by 
Mr. Wilson was inscribed 

HIC JACET 

Col. Monkton 

KILLED 28 June 

1778 

W. R. W. 
Mr. W. may have been induced to put 
up the board by noticing that in the rem- 
iniscences of the battle published by Hen- 
ry Howe, who visited the ground in 1S42, 
attention was called to the fact that no 
monument marked the grave. 

In 1850, Benson J. Lossing visited the 
battle ground and made a sketch of the 
head board which was given in his valua- 
ble work, the Field Book of the Revolu- 
tion, and it is also given in a late number 
of the American Historical Record Mr. 
Lossing says that when he visited tiie grave 
" the only monument that marked the spot 
was a plain board painted red, mufih weath- 



er worn, on which was drawn in black let- 
ters the inscription seen in the picture giv 
en. The board had been set up some years 
before by a Scotch school master named 
William Wilson, who taught the young 
people m the school house upon the green 
near the old Meeting House," In speaking 
of Col. M'-'nckton he says : " At the head 
of his grenadiers on the field of Monmouth, 
he kept them silent until they were with- 
in a few rods of the Americans, when wav- 
ing his sword he shouted '' Forward to tlie 
charge !" Our General VVayne was on his 
front. At the same moment "Mad Antho- 
ny " gave a signal to fire. A terrible volley 
poured destruction upon Monckton's gren- 
adiers and almost every Brili»h officer fell. 
Amongst litem was their brave leader. — 
Over his body the comf)atants fought des- 
perately until the Americans secured it 
and bore it to the rear.'" 

Captain Wilson and Dominie Wilson. 
The Grenadier Flag. 

A writer in the American Historical Rec- 
ord, June, 1874, referring to the above no- 
tice says it reminds liim " of the relics of 
the Royal Grenadiers and of their gallant 
Colonel which are still in existence; and I 
was struck with the coincidence in name 
of the Scotch schoolmaster, William Wil- 
son, who set up the board that marks the 
Colonel's grave, with that of the Irish Cap- 
lain, William Wilson, by the rifles of whos'' 
company Monckton fell. On the parlor ta- 
ble of Captain William Wilson Potter, of 
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, a great grandson 
of General James Potter, of the Revolu- 
tion, may be seen any day for tlie asking, 
the flag of the Royal Grenadiers, captured 
on thefield of Monmouth, by his (materni'l) 
grandfather, the late Judge William Wil- 
son, of Chillisquaque Mills, Northumber- 
land county, Pennsylvania. The ground or - 
main surface is lemon or light-yellow 
heavy corded silk, five feet four inclies by 
four feet eight inches. The device at the 
upper right coiner is twenty inches square, 
and is that of the English Union which dis 
tinguishes the Royal a.andard of Great 
Britain. It is composed of the cross of St. 
George, to denote England, and St. An- 
drews cross in the Ibrm of an X to denote 
Scotland, ''lie field of the device is blue, 
the central stripes (cross of St. George) 
red, the margnial ones white. The flag has 
the apptarance of having b; en wrenche<l 
from its staff, and has a few blood stains on 
the device, otherwise it looks as bright and 
new as if it ha<l just come from the gentle 



OLD TLV1K8 IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



159 



fingers that made it, although ninety-six 
years have rolled away since its golden 
folds drooped in the sultry air of that June 
day battle." 

The following is an account of that part 
of the engagement relating to 

The Charge of the (Grenadiers, 

After General Lee's retreat was checked 
by General Washington in person, the lat- 
ter formed a new lin« for his advanced 
troops, and put Lee again in command 
General Washington then rode back to the 
main army and formed it on an eminence, 
with a road in the rear and a morass in 
front. The left was commanded by Lord 
Stirling with a detacliment ot artillery ; 
LaFavette with Wavne was [)osted in the 
centre, partly in an orchard and partly 
sheltered by a barn ; General Greene was 
on the ri<;'ht with his artillery under Gen- 
eral Knox, pos ed on commi'nding ground. 
Geneinl Lee maintained his advanced po- 
sition as long Hs lie could, himself coming 
oifwitii his rear across a road whicli trav- 
ersed the morass in front of Stirling's 
troops. The British followed sharp, and 
met^iiiiii with a warm reception, endeav 
ored to turn the left flank but were driven 
back; they tien tried the rijjht, hut were 
met by General Greene's forces and heavy 
discharges from Knox's artillery, which 
not only checked them but, raked the 
whole length of the columns in front of 
the U f t wing. Then came a determined 
effort to break 'he centre maintained by 
General Wayne and the Pennsylvania 
rej^imenti; and the Royal Grenadiers, the 
flower of the British army, were ordered to 
do it. Tliey advanced several times, cross- 
ing a hedge- row in front of the morass and 
were driven back. Col. Moncton, their 
commander, then made a speech to his 
men (the troops ai the parsonage and 
those in the orchanl heard his ringing 
voice above the storm oi battle), and 
forming the Grenadiers in solid col- 
umn, advanced to the charge like 
troops on parade ; the men marching 
witli such precision that a ball from Combs 
Hill enfihding a platoon isarmed every 
man. 

Wayne ordered his men to reserve their 
fire, and the British came on in silence 
within a few rod.'*, when Moncton waved 
his sword above his h^ad and ordered his 
grenadiers to charge. Simultaneously 
Wayne ordered iiis men to fire and a ter- 
rible volley laid low the first ranks and 
most of the officers. The colors were in 



advance to the right with the Colonel and 
they went down with him. Captain Wil- 
liam Wilson and his company who were 
on the right of the Ist Pennsylvania regi- 
ment, (Colonel James Chambers) made a 
rush for the colors and the body of the 
Colonel. The Grenadiers fought desper- 
ately and a hand to hand struggle ensued, 
but the Pennsylvanians secured his body 
and the colors; the Grenadiers gave way, 
and the whole British army fell back to 
Lee's position in the morning. They de- 
camped so quietly in the night that Gen- 
eral Poor, who lay near them with orders 
to recommence the battle in the morning, 
was not aware of their departure. 

The following reminiscences, published 
by Howe were mainly derived from the 
late venerable Dr. Samuel Forman, who 
was on the battle field tbe day after the 
action. 

The advanced corps of Americans under 
Wayne was on high ground close by a barn 
about twelve rods back of the parsonage, 
while a park of artillery were on Combs 
Hill, a height commanding that ot the 
enemy. The British grenadiers several 
times crossed the fence and advanced 
toward the barn, but were as often 
driven back by the fire of the troops 
stationed there and the artillery from 
Combs Hill. At length < ol. Moncton 
made to ihem a spirited address which was 
distinctly heard by the Americans at the 
barn and parsonage, distant only twenty 
or thirty rods. They then advanced in 
beautiful order as though on parade. As 
they appeared within a few reds of the 
barn, Wayne ordered his men to pick off 
the officers. * * * The spot near 
where Col. Monkton was killed is (1842) 
marked by an oak stump about eight rods 
northeast ot the parsonage. * * * 'Phe 
most desperate part of the conflict was in 
the vicinity of where Monkton fell. There 
the British grenadiers lay in heaps like 
sheaves on a harvest field. Our informant 
states that they dragged the corjjses by 
the lieels to shallow pits dug for the 
purpose and slightly covered them with 
earth; he saw thirteen buried in one hole. 
For many years after, their graves were 
indicated by the luxuriance of the vegeta- 
tion. Among the enemy's dead was a 
sergeant of the grenadiers, designated as 
the '' high sergeant." He was the tallest 
man in the Briti.sli army, measuring seven 
leet four inches in height. 

The day was unusually hot even for the 
season and both armies suffered severely; 



1(30 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



the British more than the Americans, be- 
cause of their woollen uniforms and bur- 
dened with their knapsacks and accoutre- 
ments, while the latter where divested of 
their packs and superfluous clothing. The 
tongues of great numbers were so swollen 
as to render them incapable of speaking. 
Many of both armies perished solely from 
heat and after the battle were seen dead 
upon the field, ivithout mark or wound, 
under trees and bende the rivulet, where 
they had crawled for shade and water. 
The countenances of the dead became so 
blackened as to render it impossible to re- 
cognize individuals. Several houses m 
Freehold were filled with the wounded of 
the enemy, left on their retreat in care of 
their surireons and nurses. Every room in 
the Court Hoase was filled. Tliey lay on 
the floor on straw, and the supphoation of 
the wounded and the moans of the dying 
presented a scene of woe. As fast as they 
died, their corpses were promiscuously 
thrown into a pit on thesiteof the present 
(1842) residence of Dr. Throckmorton, and 
slightly covered with earth. 

In aiJdition to the above statements of 
Dr. FoRMAN regarding the heat of ihe day, 
we remember on our first visit to the bat- 
tle ground forty od(? years ago being told 
by an old gentleman residing in the vicin- 
ity, while describing the battle, that both 
the British and Americans were so over- 
come by the heat, and were suffering so 
much from thirst, that as they approached 
the stream, the troops of both armies, re- 
iiardless of discipline, broke from their 
ranks and rushed to the hrook to quench 
their thirst at the same time, and but a 
little distance apart. Many were unable 
to resunoe their places in the ranks and 
we.'e found dead as above related. Of the 
British it is stated that fifty nine perished 
from the heat. 



VISITORS AT THE BATTLE GROUND. 



" If there's a hule in all your coats 

I rede you tent it ; 
A chield'8 among you taking notes, 

And faith ho'll prent it." 

So said the poet Burns in reference to 
Captain Grose, noted for his peregrinations 
through Scotland collecting antiquities of 
the kingdom, and we have been forcibly 
reminded of liis lines in reading various 
comments made by visitors to the Mon- 
mouth battle ground. These commants 
are in the main very favorable to the citi- 



zens of old Monmouth, but occasionally we 
meet with an unpalatable note. 

The .author of the Field Book of the 
Revolution says : 

•' I visited the battle ground of Mon- 
mouth towaid the close of September, 1850, 
and had the good fortune to be favored 
with the company of Doctor John Wood- 
hull, of Freehold, in my ramble over that 
interesting locality. Dr. Woodhull is the 
son of the beloved minister of that name 
who succeeded Rev. William Tennent in 
the pastoral care of the congregation that 
worshipped in the Freehold meeting house, 
and who, for forty hix consecutive years. 
preached and prayed in that venerated 
chapel. Dr. VVoodhull was born in the 
parsonage yet upon ihe battleground, and 
is so familiar with every localitv and event 
connei^ted with tiie conflict, that I felt as 
it' traversing the battle field with an actor 
in the scene.*' 

Mr. Lossiiig next speaks of a heavy storm 
which compelled him to take shelter in 
the old Tennent church ; resting his port- 
folio on the high back of an old pew he 
sketched a picture of the neat monument 
erected to the memory of Rev. John Wood- 
hull, D. D., who died Nov. 22nd, 1824, aged 
80 years. He next refers to Rev. William 
Tennent who was pastor of that flock for 
forty-three years, and gives an outline of 
his life, and then says : 

'' When tl)e storm :< bated we left the 
church and proceeded to the battleground. 
The old parsonage is in the present pos- 
session of Mr. William T. Sutphen, who 
has allowed the parlor and study of Ten- 
nent and Woodhull to be uised as a depos 
iiory of giain and of agricultural imple- 
ments! The careless neglect which per- 
mits a mansion so hallowed by religion 
and patriotic events to fall into ruin, is ac- 
tual desecration and much to bn repre- 
hended and de|)lored. The windows are 
destroyed, the roof is falling into the 
chambers ; and in a lew years not a ves- 
tige will be left of that venerable mem'^n- 
to of the Jield of Monmouth. 

" We visited the spot where Monckton 
fell; the place of the causeway across the 
morass (now a small bridge upon the main 
road); and after taking a general view 
of the "vhole ground of conflict and sketch- 
ing a picture, returned to Freehold. 

" It had been to me a day of rarest inter- 
est and pleasure, notwithstanding the in- 
clement weather ; for no battle field in our 
country has stronger claims to the rever- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTn. 



161 



ence of the American heart than that of 
the plains of Monmouth, * * * 

" The men nnd women of the Revolution 
but a few years since, numerous in the 
neigliboihood of Freehold, have passed 
away, but the narrative of their trials dur- 
ing the war have left abiding re'cords of 
patriotism upon the hearts of their de 
scendants. 1 listened to many tales con- 
cerning the Pine Robbers and other des- 
peradoes of tlie time, who kept the people 
of Monmouth county in a state of contin- 
ual alarm. Many noble deeds of daring 
were achieved by the tillers of the soil, 
and their mothers, wives and sisters ; and 
while the field o[ Monmouth attested the 
bravery and endurance of American sol- 
diers, the inhabitants whose households 
were disturbed on that memorable Sabbath 
morning by ihe bugle and the cannon 
peal, exhibited in their daily course the 
loftiest patriotism and manly courage. We 
will leave the task of recording the acts of 
their heroism to the pen of the local his 
torian." 

The following item we find published in 
a magazine over a year ago: -'Attention 
has lately been called to the condition of 
the grave of Col Monckton, in the burial 
ground of the Fre(-liold Meeting House in 
Monmouth Co., N. J. It should be prop- 
erly cared for, for Monckton, though a 
foeman to the Americans when he fell 
mortally wounded at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, was a gallant officer, and a man of 
irreproachable moral character."' 



OUR GOOD LOOKING GRAND- 
MO r HERS. 



Why Jersey Ladies ake so Attractive. 

All histories of Revolutionary times con- 
cede that in patriotism our forefathers 
were not excelled by the people of any 
otlier state. From ihe following extracts 
it will be seen that daring the last century 
the women also of New Jersey were held 
in high repute by people in other states.- - 
Jerseymen of the present day very well 
know tiiat the ladies of our state now are 
hard to excel in beauty, intelligence, amia- 
bility, industry and other deservable qual- 
ities. And it is gratifying to know that 
their maternal ancestors obtained such 
marked commendation from competent 
judge? in other states. 

Guthrie's Geography, published by the 
celebrated Matthew Carey in 1795, says : 



'* There is at least as great a number of 
industrious, discreet, amiable, genteel and 
handsomfc women in New Jersey in pro- 
portion to the number of its inhabitants as 
in any one of the thirteen states." 

Winterbottom'sGeograi^hy, published in 
New York the following year, quotes the 
above extract, but the author thinking 
such compliments unusual in such a work 
prefaces his quotation with the remark 
that " It is not the business of the geogra- 
pher to compliment the ladies, nor would 
we be thought to do so when we say that 
there are in New Jersey as great a number 
of industrious, discreet, &c." 

Morse's Geography, published in New 
York by the father of tbe celebrated Pro- 
fessor-Morse, quotes and endorses the re- 
marks of both of the above writers, and 
adds that " the ladies of New Jersey are 
as well educated and intelligent as the la- 
dies of any other state." We will take 
the liberty here of expressing our gratifi- 
cation that Morse quoted the most of his 
complimentary remarks from other writ- 
ers ; had he expressed them in his own 
language we might reasonably fear as 
bungling work as he made in describing 
Albany and its inhabitants. In an early 
edition of his geography, which we found 
in the library of the New York Geographi- 
cal and Statistical Society, he says : 

"There are over six hundred houses in 
Albany, and the population is over ten 
thousand mostly of the gothic style of 
architecture with their gable ends turned 
to the streets." 

Ten thousand people of the gothic style 
of architecture with their gable ends 
turned to the street would have presented 
a remarkable spectacle. He probably 
meant this description to apply to the 
houses and not the people. 

Among more ancient writers who de- 
scribed the jieople of New Jersey was Ga- 
briel Thomas, who published a work in 
1698, describing Pennsylvania and West 
Jersey, but one copy of which is known to 
be in existence. From this copy, in the 
Philadelphia Franklin Library, we extract 
the following, relating to the inhabitants 
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey : 

" The men are all industrious and 
healthy, the children born here are beau- 
tiful, without spot or blemish, and every 
married lady has a baby in her laj), or one 
— " Ahem I well, these old writers have 
sometimes such a blunt way of expressing 
themselves, that a bashful man feels rather 
dubious about the propriety of quoting ex- 



162 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



actly the conclusion of the sentence, but it 
substantially means " tliat they jiresent ex- 
ternal evidence of soon being able to have 
one to tend." 

From the foregoing it will be seen that 
it is perfectly natural that Jersey ladies 
should be fascinating; they take after their 
mothers and female ancestors ; like them 
they are " industrious, discreet, amiable, 
genteel, handsome and intelligent." But 
these complimentary expressions are left 
out of modern geographies, not because 
they are inappropriate, but doubtless out 
of respect to ladies of other states and to 
the men of this; for if they were now pub- 
lished in our text books, men from other 
states might flock here for partners to the 
aggravation of the girls they left behind 
them, and of the young men of New Jer- 
sey, who would naturally object to such in- 
roads for such a purpose. 

Our Ancestors of English Origin. — The 

BEST BLOOD OF NeW EnGLAND. 

The following complimentary remarks 
about our first white settlers of English or- 
igin are from Watson's Annals ot Philadel- 
phia : 

''The vicinity of Philadelphia to New 
Jersey has had the etieci to contribute a 
great deal of Jersey ])Opulation to the city 
and a good race of citizens they make. — 
They may be considered as a people much 
formed from the best Yankee hlood. All 
along the seaboard, the first settlers there, 
"IS their names show, came from New Eng 
land in colonial times. In the Revolution 
the Governor of Pennsylvania (Reed) was 
from JNew Jersey; so too Attorney General 
Sargent and Commissary General Boudi- 
nit. Not long since, all ihe officers of the 
Mayor's Court, Mayor, Recorder, prosecut- 
ing officers and even the crier were Jersey 
born." 

The First White Opinion of Old Mon- 
mouth. 

On the 2nd day of Spptember, 1609, Sn- 
Henry Hudson in the ship Half Moon, 
cruised along the shore of the county, and 
at night anchored not far from Long 
Branch. His journal or log book was kept 
by his mate, Alfred Just. After describ- 
ing the coast, &c., at the close of the duy's 
record, he says : 

" This is a very good land to fall in with, 
and a pleasant land to see." 

This is the most ancient opinion of the 
county to be lound expressed by a white 
person, and one in which all its citizens 



will agree as correct and applicable at the 
present day. 

CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTA- 
TIVES. 



By an act of Congress approved June, 
1842, all members of Congress were re 
quired to be elected by Congressional Dis- 
tricts. Under that law the following per- 
sons have been elected to Congress to rep- 
resent the districts to which Monmouth 
has belonged. 

Second Congressional District. 

•28th Congress 1843-4 George Svkes of Burlington Co. 

29 •' 1845-6 

30 " 1847-8 William A. Newell Monmouth " 

31 '• 1849-50 " " " " 

32 •' 1851-2 Charles Skelton Mercer " ' 
.33 " 1853-4 " " " " 

34 •' 1855-6 George R. Fobbing " " 

35 " 1857-8 " " " " 
.36 " 1859-60 J. L. N. Stratton, Burlington " 

37 " 1861-2 " " 

38 " 1863-4 William A. Newell, Monmouth " 

39 " 1865-6 George Middleton " " 

40 " 1867-8 Charles Haight " " 

41 " 1869-70 " " " " 

42 " 1871-2 Samuel C. Porker, Burlington ' 

Third Congressional District. 



1873-4 Amos Clark, Jr., Middlesex 
1876-6 Miles Ross " 



It is a coincidence that since the Dis- 
trict law of Congress passed, the Demo- 
crats have elected nine members and their 
opponents just nine including Samuel G. 
Wright elected, but who died before tak- 
ing his seat. 

Congressional Memoranda. 

Among those who were natives of, or 
have represented Old Monmouth in the 
National councils, may be mentioned the 
following : 

Db. Nathaniel Scudder. 

Dr. Scudder was a delegate to the Con- 
tinental Congress from New Jersey from 
1777 to 1779, ani was one of ttic signers of 
the articles of Confederation. He was the 
son of Col. Jacob Scudder of Monmouth 
Court House, born May 10th. 1733. After 
graduating at Princeton College in 1751, 
he gave his attention to the practice of 
medicine. At the outbreak of the Revo- 
lution he was commissioned Lieutenant 
Colonel, First Regiment ; Colonel same 
regiment Nov. 28th. 1776. Delegate to 
Congress 1777-9. He was killed by the 
Refugees, Oct 16th, 1781, at Black Poini 
(Shark River?) He was at the time en- 
gaged in conversation with General David 
Forman and it is supposed the shot was 
aimed at the latter. General Forman at- 



OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH. 



163 



tributed his marvelous escape to an invol- 
untary step backward which became " the 
raos,ifortv,nate step in all his life," 

An interesting outline of Dr. Scudder's 
life was published in the Monaiouth Dem- 
ocrat, May 29th, 1873, by Anna Maria 
Woodhull. 

John Anderson Scudder, M. D., 

Was a represt^ntative in Congress from 
New Jersey for the unexpired term of 
James Cox who died in 1810. He was the 
eldest son of Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, above 
mentioned. He was born March 22nd, 
1759; served as Surgeon's m.-ite in the Rev 
olutionary army ; was a member of the As- 
sembly for several years and finally re- 
moved to Kentucky. 

■ General James Cox. 

James Cox was a native of Monmouth 
County, born in 1753 ; served several years 
as a member of the Legislature, and was 
Speaker of the Assembly ; commanded a 
company of militia in the Revolution and 
was at the battles of German town and Mon- 
mouth ; was subsequently a Brigadier Gen- 
eral of militia. Was a representative in 
Congress 1809-10. Died September 12th, 
1810. 

Rev. Benjamin Bennett. 

Born in 1762, was a Baptist minister and 
a Representative in Congress from 1815 to 
1819. He died at Middletown, N. J., Oc- 
tober 8tli, 1840. 

Garret D. Wall 
was born in Monmouth county, March 
10th, 1783 ; licensed attorney in 1804 and 
as counsellor in 1807. Appointed clerk 
of the Supreme Court in 1812, holding 
the position for five years ; command- 
ed a volunteer company at the defence of 
Sandy Hook in the war of 1812, and was 
Quarter Master Genernl of the State from 
1815 to 1827. In 1827 he was elected to 
the General Assembly ; in 1829 was ap- 
pointed United States District Attorney 
for New Jersey and tlie same year was 
elected Governor of the State by the Leg- 
islature but he deciiued the appointment. 
General Wall was elected a member of the 
United States Senate to serve from 1835 to 
1841. In 1843 his health was impaired by 
a stroke of paralysis, but in 1848 he was 



appointed Judge of the Court of Errors 
anc}' Appeals, which oflRce he occupied un- 
til ins death at Burlington, N. J,, Nov. 
'i2, 1850. 

His son. Colonel James W. Wall, born in 
Trenton, was elected Senator in 1863 to fill 
an unexpired term. 

John C. Ten Evck, 

was born at Freehold, March 12th, 1814. — 
In 1839 was appointed Prosecutor of the 
Pleas for Burlington county, holding the 
position for (en years; was a member of 
the Convention to frame a new state con- 
stitution in 1844, and was elected United 
States Senator in 1859 to serve six years. 

Daniel B. Ryall 
was born at Trenton, Jan. 30th, 1798. — 
Came to Freehold to practice law in 1820, 
where he remained in practice 35 years. — 
He was a member of the State Legislature 
for three years, and Speaker of the House 
for the same time. He was Representative 
in Congress from 1839 to 1841. He died 
at Freehold, Dec. 17th, 1864. 

Samuel G. Wright was elected a mem- 
ber of Congress in the fall of 1844 but died 
July 30, 1845, before taking his seat. He 
was born in 1787, and filed n^ar Allen- 
town (at Harrison's Hill ?) 

James H. Imlay was a representative in 
Congress from 1797 to 1801. We have 
found no record of his nativity but pre- 
sume he was from Monmouth. He grad- 
uated at Princeton in 178G, and was for a 
time a tutor in that college. 

William L Dayton w;is born at Basken- 
ridge, Somerset County, Febiuary 17th, 
1807; graduated at Princeton in 1825, prac- 
ticed law in Freehold many years, was ap- 
pointed Judge of the Supreme Court in 
1838 ; and appointed in 1842 to fill vacan- 
cy caused by death o' Samuel L. Southard, 
and again in 1845 serving to 1851 United 
States Senator. In 1857 was Attorney 
General of the State; appointed Minister 
to France by President Lincoln in 1861, 
and died in Paris at Hotel d« Louvre Dec. 
1st. 1864. The most laudatory notice of 
him published in the Paris papers was 
written by John Slidell, the Rebel Com- 
missioner whom Judge Dayton for three 
years had earnestly opposed. 



